Warriors out to show they belong in NCAAs

STANFORD, Calif. » For Monday’s first NCAA tournament practice, the University of Hawaii volleyball team entered through Maples Pavilion’s front door.

It was a metaphorical move for a team that believed it did not need a back-room deal to earn a berth in the six-team field. The Rainbow Warriors play Penn State in a so-called "play-in" match on the Stanford campus on Tuesday night. First serve is at 5 p.m. Hawaii time.

"These guys absolutely deserve to be here," said coach Charlie Wade, whose Warriors lost to Pepperdine in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation semifinals on Thursday. The Warriors earned a play-in berth because they met more of the nine-point criteria than the Waves, whose season ended when they lost to UC Irvine in the MPSF title match.

"We had a great year," Wade added. "We were clearly one of the best teams in the MPSF. We had a chance to win the (regular-season title). We’re disappointed we didn’t, but we deserve to be here. We believe we can win this whole thing."

The Warriors’ last appearance in the NCAA postseason was in 2002, when they defeated Pepperdine in the title match only to vacate the championship when it was ruled they used a player who should have been ineligible.

"It’s been a long time," Wade said. "In men’s volleyball, in our league, you do not get a chance to get back here very often. It’s really gratifying for everyone associated with this program — the players, the coaches — just to be like, ‘wow.’ "

Setter Jennings Franciskovic recalled feeling "devastated" following the loss to Pepperdine last week.

"To get a second chance is really indescribable," Franciskovic said. "We’re thankful, and we’re definitely going to make it count. We’re not going to take this second chance for granted. We know we deserve to be here, and we’re going to prove that. We’re going to show why we deserve this second chance."

The Warriors were allotted 85 minutes to practice in Maples, the majority of which they spent on the fundamentals. The Warriors practiced serving against a back row containing two liberos. In another drill, two middle blockers were placed directly across the net from Taylor Averill. In recent matches, Averill, a senior middle who is second nationally in hitting percentage, has faced a bunched block.

It was the most animated gym time for the Warriors, whose road trip will reach the eighth day on Tuesday.

"Everybody has re-ignited the flame," Averill said. "Guys are stoked. We’re not, ‘Oh, boy, we’re happy to be here.’ It’s like, ‘What an awesome opportunity to come in with an at-large bid and try to win the whole thing. That’s where we’re at right now."

Outside hitter Siki Zarkovic has fully recovered from a high-ankle sprain suffered earlier in the season. Averill has overcome arm soreness. Kupono Fey emerged from a midseason funk to become a go-to hitter and steady passer the past few matches.

During a late-February practice, Wade recalled, Fey "could not get the ball over the net. He couldn’t serve. He couldn’t hit. He was exhausted."

Fey admittedly was spent "physically and mentally." With a taxing study load in engineering and rigors of the season, Fey said, "I definitely hit a wall. I lost the drive for a little bit."

He turned to his mother, Shelley Fey, a former UH basketball player. "She helped me get through it," Fey said. "The season is a long grind. I had to push through it. It made me better."

UH beat Penn State in three sets during the Outrigger Hotels Invitational in January. "When we first met, both teams are so different from now," PSU coach Mark Pavlik said.

The Nittany Lions endured five concussions and four sprained ankles in the interim. But the strategy remains the same: Feed 6-foot-9 outside hitter Aaron Russell, the three-time EIVA player of the year.

"I think the scouting report is going to be pretty simple on us — No. 8," Pavlik said of Russell, who averages 4.70 kills per set. "We’ll see how our passing and serving hold up."

Russell, libero Connor Curry and outside hitter Chris Nugent are the Nittany Lions’ best passers.

Pavlik said: "Is our passing/serving going to hold up? Offensively, are we going to hit the court with swings? Can we make sure we don’t give up easy points and not shorten the game from 25 for them? Pretty standard stuff."

Pavlik said the path to the title is not easy.

"Either you’re good enough," Pavlik said, "or you’re not."