"It's not like we didn't expect him to leave," Rainbow assistant coach Tino Reyes said after yesterday's news conference, where Katz officially announced he was turning pro.
"We feel fortunate that he came back this past season after saying he was going to leave. He truly elevated the sport of volleyball to another level as well as elevated the play of his teammates. He brought a new level of volleyball awareness to Hawaii as well as the rest of the country.
"What are we going to do without him? We expect to be a pretty good team next season and our goal is to get back to the Final Four again."
Katz, who led the nation in kill average and service aces this year, helped Hawaii to its first-ever Final Four appearances the past two seasons. The Rainbows finished fourth in 1995 and, after sweeping through conference play at 19-0, UH placed second to UCLA last May in a five-set thriller at Pauley Pavilion.
The 23-year-old Katz was named the MVP of the national tournament, adding to his impressive list of honors over two seasons. In addition to being named All-American twice, the Israeli national was the co-national player of 1996, as selected by the American Volleyball Coaches Association; the NCAA Division I player of the year for both Volleyball and College Sports magazines; the Powerbar National Fan Favorite; a two-time first-team Mountain Pacific Sports Federation pick and the MPSF Freshman of the Year for 1995.
"Wherever I go, Europe, Japan, Brazil, I know I will never have the fan support that I had here," said Katz. "These were the best two years of my life. I want to thank Coach (Mike) Wilton and Tino (Reyes) for all they did for me. I also want to thank the fans for their support. There is no place in the world like Hawaii, the fan support is the best in the world. I will always consider Hawaii a home."
Katz has not signed a contract nor has he retained an agent. He expects to try out for teams in Europe and Brazil, saying Italy would be the best place to play.
He acknowledged that, because of the Olympics next month, this is not the ideal time to be turning professional. But Doug Beal, the former U.S. Olympic men's volleyball, felt that Katz could command a six-figure salary whenever he wanted.
Regardless of who he signs with, Katz said it will be only for one year. He wants to be available for the new U.S. indoor men's pro league that is projected to start in March of 1998.
"I would like very much to come back to Hawaii and play for the pro team here," said Katz. "I want to play indoor, not beach, to begin with.
"It was a tough decision to make because I know if I came back next year, I would still have a lot of fun. But this was the best decision for me, this is what I had always planned to do when I started playing volleyball, to be a professional player. I
want to try and go to a higher level and see how good I can be."
At the collegiate level, Katz was phenomenal. The opposite hitter broke numerous hitting and serving records, becoming Hawaii's all-time career leader in kill average (7.8 kpg) and aces (98).
Katz also set the NCAA Tournament record for most kill attempts in a match, with 94 in the loss to UCLA. This season, he led the Rainbows in kills (687), attempts (1,275) and aces (51).
"It's never a good time to lose a Player of the Year," said Reyes, "but I wished it happened every year. It means we have great players in our program and we, as coaches, are doing our jobs. I think it's unprecedented in men's volleyball where someone has left a program to turn pro.
"We're going to miss Yuval, his serves, his defense, his ability to turn a bad set anywhere on the court into a kill. I don't know if anyone can replace a player like Yuvi. He's so charismatic on the floor. Some say his actions border on arrogance, but we liked to think of it as confidence.
"This is like cutting off an arm; when that happens, you adjust. It's not like we're cutting out our heart. We're going to be a good team next year, although the conference may be the toughest it's ever been."
Jason Ring, a middle blocker last season, likely will move to Katz's opposite spot where Reyes predicts Ring will make All-American. The Rainbows will return four players who started at various times, including second-team All-
American Aaron Wilton, and Naveh Milo, Sivan Leoni and Rick Tune.
The next biggest hole to fill will be at setter, where Erik Pichel led the country in assists as a senior this season. Leading candidates are Curt Vaughan and Kahinu Lee.
Reyes said the consensus of the MPSF coaches is that conference will have eight of the top 10 teams in the country, possibly Nos. 1 through 5. Expected to contend for the MPSF title are Hawaii, Stanford, UCLA, Pepperdine and UC Santa Barbara.
Wilton, on the mainland scouting prep prospects, said Katz's scholarship will likely be divided among the team's seniors. The NCAA allows only 4.4 scholarships to be awarded in men's volleyball.
There should be another Katz on Hawaii's roster in two years. Noam Katz, Yuval's 19-year-old brother and setter for the Israeli national team, is expected to play for the Rainbows following his stint in the Israeli army.