Pacific libero Koala Matsuoka sucked up a quarter of her team’s 103 digs last week against UC Santa Barbara, and the Kamehameha graduate is not even the most imposing part of the Tigers’ Hawaii volleyball ohana.

On the bench next to third-year head coach Greg Gibbons are associate coach Ray Batalon and assistant Aven Lee, born and mostly raised on Oahu. They are almost as eager to eat local food as they are to play ninth-ranked Hawaii tonight.

"Oh God, yeah," said Batalon, who came to UOP after seven years at Nevada."The first stop is Rainbow (Drive-In) right off the plane. … I’m trying to stay healthy these days, so I try to stay away from that food until I get there.

"I go to Leonard’s Bakery always for malasadas. Get there at 6:30 a.m. so they are fresh. When I get back to the hotel there are always one or two girls who grab a couple, then there’s 10 for myself. And Waiola Shave Ice is definitely a stop. I’m going to talk my cousins into taking me to Korean barbecue."

Lee, a Kamehameha graduate who played for the Rainbow Wahine from 1996 to 2000, is "mainstreaming" the team meals at places like Zippy’s, Big City Diner and Duke’s breakfast buffet. She’s heading to her family’s house for her favorite grinds and plans a few other pickups.

"We are going to eat in between," she said. "Somebody will have a plate lunch at practice."

Hawaii men’s coach Charlie Wade, who coached UOP from 2006 to 2008, is responsible for bringing Lee to Stockton, Calif. Her first coaching gig came at Kalani. She took over for Tehani Miyashiro, another former Wahine, at the request of Tehani’s mother, Joey, yet another former Wahine. Cousin Tamari Miyashiro, last seen playing back row for Team USA in London, was on the team.

"I don’t think I was ready to do it initially," Lee says, "but my auntie trusted me enough to coach her daughter, so I did it."

She also coached club ball with Wade, then the Wahine associate coach. He was impressed with her knowledge, personality and presence, which has won over pretty much every teammate Lee ever had. He kept asking if she was ready to move up . She kept waiting for "the right fit."

When the opening came at UOP, the "fit" was in. Lee knew the Tigers’ legacy and had been intimately involved in the rivalry at UH.

"They’ve won national championships, they reminded me of UH a little bit," Lee said. "They had these great All-Americans like Elaina Oden. There was a lot of success in that program. If it was a place Charlie wanted to be, I figured it was a good place."

Wade hired her, then came back to Hawaii. In the interim, before Gibbons was hired, Batalon came on board. He moved to Reno, Nev., with his mother at 10 and has been missing Hawaii’s food and warm weather since. His mainland-born "obsession" with volleyball helped fill the void.

"When I figured out I wasn’t tall enough to play I figured I could coach and stay involved," Batalon said. "I didn’t watch the Wahine when I lived there, didn’t know about them until later. When I got really involved in volleyball, about ’86 or ’87, I learned about Hawaii volleyball, its history and tradition."

Along with winning, soaking in the unique volleyball atmosphere here is what UOP’s coaches most want their players to enjoy. Batalon, "0-for-Hawaii" in his career, hopes this Pacific team is like those who carved out 25 wins against UH — more than any opponent aside from UCLA.

"It will be an eye-opening experience for some of the freshmen," Batalon said. "It’s always tough the first year. You acquire experience as you start playing in the Stan Sheriff. I remember a couple times Nevada freshmen hitting balls up into the band, but for a lot of them it’s going to be something special."

Pacific has shown potential. It is ranked third nationally in digs, averaging 18.53 a set — four more than UH. Players like Megan Birch, Jen Sanders, Kat Schulz and Gillian Howard helped it to a 12-1 preseason, with the only loss at No. 2 Stanford.

The Big West has been tougher. Consistency has been elusive and the Tigers’ weapons have yet to put it together on the same night. Batalon and Lee hope it happens here, before UOP joins the West Coast Conference next season and its coaches have to go cold turkey on curry stew and the largest crowds in the game.

"For me, that was a huge part of the excitement of playing at UH, to be in that atmosphere with fans who love the sport and are so supportive," Lee said. "I’m telling our kids even if you’re not the home team, volleyball is appreciated back home. There might be opportunities where you get a few celebrations too because Hawaii loves volleyball."