Who would have thought that food and volleyball could go together? Obviously, Mike Wilton does.
The coach of the University of Hawaii men's volleyball team is a fan of Emeril Lagasse, the host of The Essence of Emeril, a New Orleans-style cooking show on The Food Channel. To be successful on this week's critical road trip, Wilton is borrowing Lagasse's trademark line: "It's time to kick it up a notch."
"That's what we have to do this week," said Wilton, whose sixth-ranked team opens a three-match road swing tonight at No. 10 Long Beach State. "After Emeril says time to kick it up, he throws a couple of handfuls of super hot stuff into the mix. That's our plan, too."
The Rainbows (7-4, 5-3) would like an encore performance from last weekend, when they dominated winless San Diego State in two Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matches. The 49ers (8-4, 3-4) will prove to be a tougher opponent.
The Rainbows also cannot afford to look past Long Beach State, a team they beat, 3-1, on Jan. 28, and ahead to Friday's match with UCLA (7-3, 6-2).
The match with UCLA is also a rematch of last May's NCAA final, won by UCLA in five.
"Let me tell you about the importance of winning at UCLA," said Rainbow blocker Rick Tune. "If we had to win just one match the rest of the season - and of course I want to win every match, that's not a question - but if I had to pick one match where I want to hammer down a team, it would be UCLA. Because of the national championship last year, because they're UCLA. But that's Friday and we need to take care of Long Beach first."
Hawaii concludes the trip at UC Irvine on Saturday. The Anteaters (2-6, 2-5) are coached by former UH Wahine assistant Charlie Brande, who is in his first season at UCI.
The Rainbows, who moved up a spot in this week's poll, have four players ranked among the national leaders. Setter Curt Vaughan is second in assists (18.44) right behind Kamehameha product Stewart Chong (18.77) of Stanford.
Jason Ring is second in kills (6.94 ppg) while Tune ranks fifth in blocking (1.69 bpg). Sivan Leoni is eighth in hitting percentage (.445).
Today Hawaii (7-4, 5-3 MPSF) at Long Beach St. (8-4, 3-4), 5:30 p.m.