Tuesday, February 10, 1998
By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Jorge Perez was unhappy with his play last week.
Perez is set to deliver
for Rainbows
The freshman setter from
By Cindy Luis
Puerto Rico continues to adjust
at the college level
Star-BulletinThis goes beyond cramming for a course. This is about mastering an entire cultural curriculum in seven short weeks. For Jorge Perez, Assimilation 101 has meant transitions from high school to college, from Spanish to English, and from low-grade international play to high-caliber NCAA competition.
For the University of Hawaii freshman, the transitions haven't always been smooth, but he hopes to be a quick study.
He has to be. The Rainbows' hopes of playing at home for the national title three months from now literally rest in the hands of their 6-foot setter, who turned 19 just 10 days ago.
"I think I'm adjusting pretty well," said Perez, who is expected to start when No. 4 Hawaii (7-1) faces George Mason (4-1) in tonight's nonconference match. "To play volleyball in the United States, to play in Division I, this is something I have wanted since I was in seventh grade.
"I love volleyball. It's the love of my life."
It's been a tough love for Perez, who struggled during last week's road trip to California. Hawaii remained undefeated in conference play with wins at UC Santa Barbara, Loyola Marymount and Cal State Northridge, but there were times coach Mike Wilton thought about using junior reserve setter Mason Kuo.
"We just need to get him doing what he was doing when he first got here," Wilton said. "He was digging a lot of balls, holding his own at the net, setting the quicks real well. I think he's going to be OK."
Perez wasn't happy with his performance. And he takes responsibility for the problems the Rainbows had putting away teams.
"I didn't like the road much because I didn't play well," he said. "I didn't move the ball around like I usually do. I didn't put the sets where I needed to put the sets.
"Yes, it does say something about us that we could win when we didn't play well. This week I think we will improve a lot."
Perez originally planned to play at Rutgers-Newark, but a visit to the New Jersey school left him cold.
"I did want to be closer to home, but when I went there, it was cold," he said. "Plus, Tino (assistant coach Tino Reyes) told me what a great engineering school Hawaii had and about the crowds.
"Hawaii is very much like Puerto Rico. And I know that Rutgers does not get crowds like we have. I love playing in front of 6,000 people. It's the perfect place to play volleyball."
Perez grew up in a volleyball family in the small town of Trujillo Alto on the northern part of the U.S. commonwealth. His father, Nelson, was a middle blocker and club coach.
The younger Perez, nicknamed "Coco" by his grandfather, played for the Puerto Rican junior national team for three years. Reyes spotted him at last summer's Junior Olympics, where Perez's team finished third.
"He wasn't the starter for his team, but when he came off the bench to set, his team won every time," said Reyes, a former collegiate setter. "What I liked was how he changed the complexion of the game. He sets the middle as well as anyone I've seen, and I like the way he handles himself. He never shows us that he's panicking.
"The difference is the competition he's seeing now is bigger. And I think he realizes that he has to play to a high level every night. He's young and inexperienced but he's not backing down from the real big responsibility of running this team."
Men's volleyball
Wednesday and Friday: George Mason (4-1) at No. 4 Hawaii (7-1), 7 p.m.
1997-98 UH Men’s Volleyball
Schedule and Recordhttp://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
