[ WARRIOR VOLLEYBALL ]
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Matt Bender and his teammates celebrated after a point during Friday's match against Cal Baptist at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Survival of
the FittestThe Warriors’ hopes this year
depend largely on the abilities of
one of their best survivors
Matt Bender is a child of the desert, a place of beauty and unforgiving conditions.
Survival can be determined by luck, perseverance or adaptation. Bender, born and raised in Tucson, Ariz., understands well the lessons taught by the desert.
He had to look no farther than his backyard for inspiration. That's where a roadrunner the family named "Spike" has lived for a while.
Long Beach St. at Hawaii
When: Today and tomorrow, 7 p.m.Where: Stan Sheriff Center
TV: Live, KFVE (Ch. 5)
Radio: None
Tickets: $3-$14
"We didn't see him for a year and then he came back with one of his legs injured," Bender said. "We thought he'd die. But we still see him hopping around on one leg. I've been kind of inspired by that."
Determination, circumstance and talent have Bender again starting at opposite tonight for the Warrior volleyball team against No. 2 Long Beach State. The sophomore continues to improve and impress as Hawaii begins its last month of regular-season competition.
The Beach will be a good measuring stick for Hawaii, which is trying to keep its playoff-hosting hopes alive. The Warriors need to finish in the top four of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation to host a first-round playoff on April 24.
Beating the 49ers tonight and tomorrow would certainly help.
"They are a great all-around team," Bender said of Long Beach State. "One of my good friends (sophomore setter Tyler Hildebrand) plays for them. They seem to play like us, with a lot of fire."
Bender has been the one heating it up lately for Hawaii, putting down 38 kills in last week's two matches against California Baptist. A role player in 25 matches as a freshman, he had a total of 15 kills; last Friday, he put down 25 against the Lancers.
"I think he has a lot of intangible qualities, the kind that raises the level of play of the guys around him," UH associate coach Tino Reyes said. "It's never a bad set for him, no matter if it is the setter's fault. Any chance he gets he appreciates."
Said Warrior coach Mike Wilton: "Bender is very steady and he is growing in confidence. He's got a winner's attitude. He's very unflappable and doesn't let mistakes stay in his brain. He's a very canny player."
THAT HAWAII found him was almost as serendipitous as how volleyball found Bender. He was a freshman in high school and had tired of the sports he'd been playing -- football, basketball, tennis and soccer.
A friend encouraged him to try volleyball, and "I was hooked," Bender said. "Every chance I got, I wanted to play. I was just naturally addicted."
The 6-foot-3 Bender started on the outside, moved to middle blocker as a sophomore in high school, then moved to a non-passing outside hitter for his last two varsity seasons.
The self-described computer nerd -- Bender's a computer science major -- was the Player of the Year in Arizona, but didn't get a lot of attention or offers. The University of Arizona, which has a high-level club program, was very interested.
And so was Hawaii. Bender had sent tapes and e-mails to most of the Division I schools and Reyes told Bender's club coach that he would be scouting at the Junior Olympics in Phoenix in 2001.
"I had just started going to church and this was the first time I had really prayed for anything," Bender said. "I remember thinking that it would be really great if I could play well at JOs.
"When I got there, I played better volleyball than I had ever played. On my scale, I went from a 2 to like a 9 or 10."
Bender's Club Cactus was seeded 31st but knocked off the top seed in the quarterfinals, a team from Puerto Rico that featured future Warrior Jose Delgado.
"It's really a storybook miracle that I'm here," Bender said. "Tino said come out to Hawaii. I didn't know if I could afford it, but I got a WUE (Western University Exchange) scholarship and going here for a little more than it would have cost at UA.
"I've felt that it's destiny that I'm here. Maybe there's a reason for me to be out here in this perfect situation. I'd like to think I'm here for a higher purpose than to play volleyball, but maybe that is the purpose. I know I'm enjoying it and trying to make the most of my opportunities."
BENDER FIRST GOT a chance to start when sophomore opposite Pedro Azenha injured his ankle and didn't make the first road trip in January. Bender played well as the team split at UC Santa Barbara, but was replaced by Azenha when the team returned to Honolulu.
When Azenha and three others were suspended for the BYU series after breaking a team rule, Bender again found himself starting. He's retained the spot, even though Azenha and the others have been reinstated, and is now third in kill average at 2.94.
"I'm just doing the best I can and absolutely enjoying this chance," he said. "Whatever happens, whether I continue to play, or Pedro comes back in, or something else happens, I'm loving it now.
"What I'm realizing is that volleyball is a large part of my life now. But in the end, it's just a part of college. I'm realizing that, I've been much more relaxed on the court. Win or lose, I'm just out to do my best. I feel blessed to have the opportunity."
It nearly didn't happen. As a redshirt freshman, Bender barely made it through his first semester because he was homesick.
"Tucson is one of the most beautiful places in the world," he said. "The sunsets in Hawaii are really nice, but I think they are 10,000 times better at home. The desert is very spiritual. My dad told me if you're born in Tucson, you're a desert kid and you'll always be one.
"But Coach (Wilton) told me to stick around, try it through the year. He totally changed my mind and I'm very glad I stayed."
Before Saturday's match with Cal Baptist, with Hawaii on a three-match losing streak, Bender told setter Kimo Tuyay he couldn't believe fans were still coming to watch the team.
"People told me that they liked our intensity, even though we were losing," Bender said. "I can't believe people are here to watch me play volleyball. It's absolutely crazy. Nowhere else in the world does this happen. I can't get over the autograph thing. I can't believe people want me to put my name on things.
"If I could say one thing to everyone in Hawaii, it would be thank you for making me feel like a celebrity just for coming out and doing something I love. I'd be out there playing even if there was no one in the stands."
