[ UH VOLLEYBALL ]

Warriors come together
to celebrate program

It was a night to celebrate the past and to thank the former players as well. If it had not been for those involved in the history of Hawaii men's volleyball some 30 years ago, the program would have been history.

At a time when wrestling and track were being axed, the volleyball players fought to save the team.

"We had about 40-50 players willing to pay to save it and we pulled money out of our pockets," said Clyde Ching, who ended up being a player-coach for one season in the 1970s. "We had a meeting with (new athletic director) Ray Nagel with about 40-50 of us. He was surprised that were that many of us willing to pay our own way. We told him all we needed was a place to practice, some uniforms. They found some money, paid fees for a couple of local tournaments.

"I'm happy they've kept the program alive."

So were the 2,110 attending the alumni tripleheader at the Stan Sheriff Center. They watched as Matt Bender led the varsity to a surprising sweep of a talented alumni team 32-30, 30-24, 30-27.

Warrior assistant Aaron Wilton is one alumnus (1994-97) who will hear about the loss for some time to come.

"I know they'll be hard on me the very next practice," said Wilton, who finished with seven kills. "Nobody likes losing, especially to the younger guys. They certainly got a rise out of the alumni."

And the alumni showed the varsity some weaknesses to work on. All-American Costas Theocharidis (2000-03) put down a match-high 16 kills on his patented array of shots.

"I'm looking forward to the next game already," Theocharidis said. "It was great to be back in the arena again and it was fun, even if the outcome wasn't in our favor.

"I think they (the varsity) are a good team and have a legitimate chance to get to the final four. But ... they have a lot to be taught yet."

"I'd like to train that team for two weeks," Warriors coach Mike Wilton said. "They'd be scary. But I think they had too many players to get any consistency.

"No question that was a real history lesson, seeing all those guys. And the crowd was rooting for them."

The Warriors used all 14 players, including giving freshman middle Kyle Klinger his first playing time after a foot injury sidelined him. At 6-foot-8, Klinger gives Hawaii another big weapon while they wait for Delano Thomas to become academically eligible, possibly next week.

"It was nice to play against the guys that I watched on TV," Klinger said. "They're a lot of the reason I wanted to come here."

Pedro Azenha had nine kills and Lauri Hakala added eight kills, both playing in two games.

In the Golden Masters match with players from the 1950s through the '80s, the White swept the Green 20-16, 20-16. The contest featured the oldest alumnus in 71-year-old Manny Relator and much discussion over which was going to be better medication for the postgame aches: Motrin, Aleve or Tylenol.

Dr. Howard Matsuba (1974-75), who coached the White, suggested Motrin. The hand surgeon made his annual trip from Los Angeles for the event.

"It's like a class reunion for us," Matsuba said.

At times the classic rock music was better than the play. And there were times that the only "Hustle" was from the sound system.

"It's just good to see everyone," said former setter Mason Kuo (1996-99), who played for the Green in the second "Masters" match.

Kuo sparked a run at the end of Game 1 with two kills and a block as the Green held off three game points by the White, tying it for the third time at 21-21. A kill by Imai Karratti (1999) gave the Green its first game point and Kuo quickly finished it with an ace for a 23-21 win.

Karratti's ace finished off Game 2 to complete the sweep for the Green, 20-15.

A number of the alumni continue to play the sport in recreational leagues. Others are in the local prep coaching ranks, including Pono Ma'a and Mike Among (Kamehameha), Sivan Leoni (Kalaheo), Rick Tune (Punahou) and Kahinu Lee (Konawaena).

Heading out: Kai Kahele (1995-97) was scheduled to leave this morning for Thailand as part of the Hawaii Air National Guard's humanitarian effort to aid the survivors of last month's tsunami. Kahele and BJ Itoman, the former standout guard on the Rainbow Wahine basketball team, are C-130 pilots for the 204th squadron being deployed today.