There are coincidences.

And then there is Jonas Umlauft.

He builds and flies model planes. Big planes. Ones befitting a 6-foot-9 pilot working the radio controls.

The largest one? Ten feet, or three meters, to convert it to the metric system used in his native Germany.

Coincidentally—or not—Umlauft's favorite set on the volleyball court is from behind the 3-meter line. The freshman opposite for No. 6 Hawaii has already wowed the crowds at the Stan Sheriff Center with his back-row attack, including 37 kills Friday against UC Irvine that set a rally scoring school record.

“;I didn't know it was a record,”; he said. “;I don't count how many I have. It's my job to swing at balls.

“;Everyone on the team has a job. I want to keep getting better at mine.”;

He's not bad right now, nine matches into his first year with the Warriors. The 19-year-old leads the team in kills (167) and aces (7), is second in blocks (24), and third in digs (54).

“;I'm glad he's here,”; first-year coach Charlie Wade said. “;He's a good player who wants to be better. He works really hard, tries to be good at everything he does, and that's kind of what we're all about.

“;He's only 19, he's still a kid, but he plays at a very mature level.”;

Umlauft was late to the game, first playing club ball in 2005. He admits he wasn't very good, but the coaches saw the potential, the height and the genes: his older brother Jan was an opposite for the German national team.

“;I think they chose me because of my brother and because I was really tall,”; Umlauft said. “;I got a late start, not that good in the beginning, but I became better.

“;What was important to me was the volleyball was a special sport. Everyone plays soccer and I wanted a team sport that was special.”;

Special was how retired Warriors coach Mike Wilton described his German recruit last year. Wilton called Umlauft as a cross between All-Americans Yuval Katz and Costas Theocharidis, both of whom were named national player of the year.

Wilton predicted that kind of greatness for Umlauft as well. That promise materialized from Day One of fall practice.

Junior setter Nejc Zemljak heard about it before he saw it.

“;I was a week late back to camp,”; Zemljak said. “;The first thing I was asked was how was my backset. When I asked why, they said, 'You'll see.' And we all know why now.

“;He's a great option to have. He can put away the off-set and you can't really set him too much. He acts a lot older. People ask, 'Is he really that young?' “;

Umlauft, who does a juggling act with volleyballs during warmups, is serious off the court as well as on it. The electrical engineering major said he was looking for an American university that provided a good balance of volleyball and academics, “;because I want to do well at both, stay on track with my education and be able to play,”; he said.

Umlauft looked at Hawaii and Pacific and “;I heard about the great arena, the great fans here,”; he said. “;But I didn't expect this many people to come watch us. For me, the crowds are really big.

“;I'm used to playing in front of maybe 200 people, and most of them are the parents of the players. This is all still new to me, people knowing who I am, saying, 'Good game.' It's a big difference.”;

Umlauft was unable to go home for Christmas break. Instead, his parents traveled for 24 hours from Stadtbergen to come to Hawaii, watching the Warriors win the season-opening Outrigger Hotels Invitational and their youngest child earn all-tournament honors.

“;They enjoyed everything during their stay,”; he said. “;We went to the Big Island, saw the volcano.

“;My parents wanted me to study in another country, make my own experience. It's been very good so far, my teammates accepting me from the beginning, not treating me like a freshman or from another country. It is a good feeling.”;

The Warriors feel the same.

“;It's going to be pretty awesome to watch him develop,”; said former Hawaii setter Brian Beckwith, the current director of volleyball operations. “;Every team needs a player like him, who takes those trouble sets, who doesn't panic where there's a bunch of blockers in front of them. He's already talented and he's only going to get better.”;