University of Hawaii volleyball player Scott Hartley is in a personal arm’s race.
He has tried rest, and he has worked out with 5-pound weights to strengthen the deltoid muscle and rotator cuff in his sore right arm.
He has worn ice packs. He also has performed Bikram yoga in a room heated at 104 degrees. "I never sweated so much before in my life," he said.
Hartley has even undergone ARP therapy, an electrical-stimulation treatment that breaks down scar tissue and increases blood flow while subjecting the patient to bullet-biting pain. And he has practiced, rocketing spikes against UH teammates, the third-ranked team in the nation.
The pain in Hartley’s swinging arm, suffered two days before last weekend’s road matches against Brigham Young, limited his participation to serving specialist in that series. Siki Zarkovic and Kupono Fey started at the two outside-hitting positions.
Whatever his role or discomfort level, Hartley vowed to be available for any situation against Long Beach State in Saturday’s Mountain Pacific Sports Federation quarterfinals match in the Stan Sheriff Center.
"My point is, even though I’m injured, I’m definitely going to give my all," Hartley said. "I’m not going to hold back. I definitely expect to play and not worry about my shoulder."
Hartley provides another arm in a sport in which the most successful teams are the deepest. Hartley is skilled at Zarkovic’s role as pin hitter and middle-back defender, and Fey’s ball-control position.
Hartley praised Zarkovic and Fey as "incredible" players. He added: "I’d like to play, but winning is more important to me. They’re doing a great job."
Hartley’s upbeat attitude is widespread. The two losses to BYU dropped the Warriors to the No. 2 seed in the MPSF playoffs, meaning Saturday’s quarterfinal is the only guaranteed postseason match in the Stan Sheriff Center. The highest-remaining seed hosts both the MPSF semifinals and title match.
"I don’t like that we lost to BYU, but that’s behind us," Zarkovic said. "We don’t care about that anymore. We’re focusing on the upcoming games."
Setter Jennings Franciskovic said: "BYU played really well, and we didn’t play our best volleyball. We know that. We know what we need to do to win. If we’re not going to play our best volleyball, it’s going to be tough. But when we’re playing our best volleyball, we can beat anybody, especially at home. We have only one more home match, unless UCLA upsets (top-seeded) Irvine."
UH, like Long Beach State, has embraced "six" appeal. That’s the number of postseason victories either team would need to earn a national championship. Franciskovic noted that "single elimination begins" this Saturday.
The Warriors are in improved health. Opposite attacker Ryan Leung, who was bothered by back spasm in the second BYU match, no longer has discomfort.
"Everybody is 100 percent," said Zarkovic, who was recovering from an ankle injury when the Warriors swept two matches against LBSU in February.
The exception is pin hitter Hendrik Mol, who is suffering from an eye infection. While Mol will be missed, Hartley gives UH three outside hitters for two spots, and Leung can back up opposite Brook Sedore.
