Franciskovic does it all

On a volleyball TeraFlex, Hawaii setter Jennings Franciskovic is not a teen idle. 

He sets, serves, blocks, digs and, on occasion, swings. 

“He got a lot better,” UH coach Charlie Wade said. “He matured a lot. He’s evolved as the (Rainbow Warriors’) best setter. He works hard, he’s bright, and I think he’s going to get better at everything.”

Most of all, Franciskovic has emerged as a leader. At 19, he has earned respect from older, more experienced teammates. Franciskovic was at the controls when the ninth-ranked Warriors upset No. 3 UC Santa Barbara on Friday night. 

The rematch is at 5 p.m. Sunday in the Stan Sheriff Center. The match will not be televised. 

“We have to come out with a lot of energy, but we have to remember what it felt like last year when we were losing at Santa Barbara,” said Franciskovic, referring to UH’s seven-match losing streak in this series. “We  need to hate losing, and know that feeling and use it as a driving force.”

Wade said the other Warriors respond well to the sophomore setter. “Trust is a big thing,” Franciskovic said. “They trust I’m going to put them in a better situation.”

For most of a match, Wade implores a specific strategy. During a tense stretch in Friday’s match, Wade loosened his grip. 

Instead of ordering a sequence, Wade backed off, allowing Franciskovic some input within the scheme’s frame. Wade said that was helpful when the Warriors were in “semi-system,” that part of the play when things do not go exactly as planned. 

“The trouble with coaches telling the setter what to do every time, things change,” Wade said. “Even with a good pass, you can get in semi-system. You have to give him the freedom to know what to do.”

Franciskovic is developing into an active blocker. He averages 0.76 blocks per set, the most by a UH full-time setter since Brian Beckwith’s 1.21 in 2007. 

“I think it has to do with my vertical,” said Franciskovic, who has a 41 1⁄2 -inch jump off a three-step approach. 

He was 5 feet 9 as a high school freshman when he ht a growth spurt. He was 6-3 as a junior. He now is 6-4 without shoes. 

“It was my junior and senior years when I started noticing I was jumping high and getting above people and making plays,” he said. 

Wade said Franciskovic, who often is paired with All-America middle Taylor Averill in the front row, is a “work in progress” as a blocker. But Wade added: “He has the potential to be a shut-down blocker.”