Warriors face tough
foe -- their past

The volleyball alumni are
intent on giving the current
edition a good run

The team is not ranked. The players are out of NCAA eligibility.

UH Volleyball When: Tomorrow, 4:30 p.m. Where: Stan Sheriff Center Who: Alumni vs. alumni, 4:30 p.m.; Alumni vs. varsity, 7 p.m. Radio/TV: None. Tickets: $3-$6.

Still, some think that this group of alumni will be the best squad that No. 6 Hawaii will face this season.

When the Warriors line up against their past tomorrow, they will see stars ... a lot of them. Players who got the program to its first final four appearance in 1995 -- Aaron Wilton, Sivan Leoni, Jason Olive, Rick Tune -- and some who carried UH to its last in 2002 -- Costas Theocharidis, Dejan Miladinovic, Eyal Zimet.

"It's good to stay close to our roots and not get too far from the history of the program," Warrior associate head coach Tino Reyes said. "It's about the camaraderie and letting our guys see where the program has come from, from (former head coach Dave) Shoji to Alan (former coach Rosehill) and now to us.

"The alums are going to be real good this year ... if they don't get too tired."

It was a dig at the age of some of the players, but even 10 years removed from the collegiate game the "old" guys will be very competitive.

Sean Scott (1992-95) just missed qualifying for last summer's Olympic Games in beach volleyball and is a touring pro on the beach circuit. Jason Ring (1996-97) also was on the AVP tour this past summer.

The group welcomed its newest alumni at a practice Tuesday night. The rookies from the 2004 team are setter Kimo Tuyay and libero Jake Muise, the Warriors' graduate assistant.

"The indicator was when Jason Olive brought everyone together and told us what was expected," Muise said. "He said the key job was for us to make sure that, when we play the boys, they knew how volleyball is supposed to be played. To have lots of fun and give 110 percent.

"That's what this program exemplifies. It was a blast meeting guys I had seen on TV or heard of. It was pretty neat to see who I consider 'old' -- guys from the '90s -- and the guys they looked up to, the ones from the '50s and '60s."

The program goes back five decades to when it was sponsored by the USVBA. The oldest of the 36 players who have signed up is Manny Relator (1958-59).

Tomorrow's format had players from the '50s through the '70s meeting in a 4:30 p.m. match consisting of two rally-score games to 20. It will be followed by the players from the '80s and '90s squaring off.

The varsity match starts at 7 p.m.

"This is another chance for us to get better by playing another good volleyball team," Warriors coach Mike Wilton said. "The alumni get fired up and that gets our guys fired up.

"The alumni are going to be real solid on the outside and that's always key to a good team. Kimo's a good setter and they'll have Rick Tune, Sivi (Sivan Leoni) and Aaron. Someone will have the tough job of deciding who all gets to play in the late game."

The Warriors, coming off a runner-up finish at last week's Outrigger Hotels Invitational, are nearly at full strength. Sidelined are junior hitter Matt Carere (back) and senior All-American middle Delano Thomas (academics).

Thomas may be eligible for Wednesday's Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener with Cal State Northridge.

"This is going to be a good challenge for us," said sophomore libero Eric Kalima, a Kamehameha Schools graduate. "The program has a great history and I grew up watching guys like Jason Ring, Jason Olive, Aaron, Rick Tune, Yuval (Katz).

"I wanted to stay home and play in front of my family. I always wanted to be a Warrior."

"It's fun to see how much the team has evolved from what it was," added sophomore middle Dio Dante, a Maui High product. "On Maui, I knew the program was popular. People strive to be in the program and I feel very lucky to be a part of it."

In the polls: Hawaii (2-1) was No. 5 in the Volleyball magazine poll and No. 6 in the USA Today/CSTV poll released this week.

Volleyball ranks UCLA No. 1, followed by Pepperdine, BYU, Long Beach State and Hawaii.

The USA Today/CSTV poll has BYU No. 1, with 11 of 16 first-place votes, with UCLA earning the remaining five votes and the No. 2 spot. Trailing the Bruins are Pepperdine, Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State and Hawaii.