StarBulletin.com

Warriors hold off volleyball alumni


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POSTED: Sunday, October 19, 2008

Sean Carney looked through the net last night and caught a glimpse of himself.

It won't be long before the senior setter makes the transition to the “;older”; side of the court. But that's one season away.

Last night, Carney helped lead the Warrior volleyball team over the alumni 25-15, 25-17, 25-22 in the feature match at the Stan Sheriff Center. It capped some 4 hours of festivities marking the 50th anniversary of the Hawaii men's program.

“;It's always fun,”; Carney said. “;It's great to see some of the young guys, guys who were teammates and roommates not too long ago.”;

It was a heated, competitive match with good-natured jibes traded. The alumni nearly pulled out Set 3, leading by as much as 12-8, but couldn't hang on.

“;I thought they looked pretty good,”; alumni setter Kimo Tuyay (2001-04) said of the Warriors.

Hawaii has another three weeks to prepare for its mini-tournament. The Warriors will host Brigham Young and Southern Cal on Nov. 7 and 8.

“;I thought we played pretty well,”; Warriors coach Mike Wilton said. “;It was nice for our guys to connect with their tradition.

“;I saw some real treasures on the other side of the net that made me smile.”;

Although years removed from competition, the alumni were competitive, not just against the varsity, but also in the two earlier matches. One team included the oldest living player from the inaugural 1958 team, 75-year-old Manny Relator.

In the second match, two aces in Set 1 by Sivan Leoni (1995-98) helped the White defeat the Green 25-19, 16-14.

“;This was fun—it's why I came back,”; said Josh Stanheiser (2002-04), who has been playing professionally in Europe the past few years. “;These guys who played a long time ago are still out there, getting it on. They know what they're doing.

“;They got older, but they didn't get old. They have the fundamentals. A lot of guys I play with don't have these fundamentals.”;