Good is never good enough, not when the goal is to be great.

Jennings Franciskovic doesn’t want to settle for a Dickens-esque season. “Great Expectations” was fine for fall’s reading as Hawaii recharged following its first NCAA volleyball tournament appearance since 2002.

No, the junior setter wants his bildungsroman — a coming-of-age novel of growth — to be entitled “Great Expectations Exceeded.” It rests in his hands, as Franciskovic has helped the No. 5 Rainbow Warriors (6-1, 1-1) to their best start since 2005 heading into this week’s Mountain Pacific Sports Federation series with UC San Diego (3-5, 0-4).

“Last season gave us a taste of what we want to be,” Franciskovic said of Hawaii advancing to the NCAA tournament quarterfinal. “We didn’t go as far as we wanted, and that makes us hungrier, the drive is that much stronger. We know what we want.

“I’ve been asked a lot how this season would compare to last year. We graduated great players, so it is different. But I have a lot of confidence in our guys and we know we have the chance to be even better.”

The graduation of both starting middles — All-American Taylor Averill and four-year letterman Davis Holt — left a huge void to be filled. After injuries and players deciding not return, it became a black hole, one from which Hawaii continues to emerge through creativity.

Making the move

Juniors Iain McKellar and Hendrik Mol are making the transition from opposites to middles; freshman Nainoa Frank, who has played since 2013, is giving the Warriors a solid third option in the middle; and Franciskovic is running the offense in some rotations from the middle, where — at 6-foot-5 — he also is a blocking force.

“Things are going pretty well, better than we expected this early after converting two opposites,” Franciskovic said. “I’m really happy that we have begun to establish our middle attack and we have three options there.

“One thing that has opened things up is having Iain, a left-hander, in the middle. No one in the country has a lefty middle and it really opens things up.”

So, too, does having an offensive-minded setter. Although Franciskovic rarely has attacked this season — just 15 kills in seven matches — he and his 12-foot touch — makes him very much a threat.

“There are times when he’s up so high and puts the ball straight down, it’s indefensible,” senior libero Kolby Kanetake said. “He’s so deceptive setting, too. I’l be watching from the back and I don’t even know where the ball’s going to go. That means neither does the other team.

“I’ve seen him grow so much over the past few years. He’s become a leader.”

Coach Charlie Wade has seen the growth in the player he describes as a “pogo stick.” Franciskovic’s standing vertical is 39 inches.

“His jumping is what clearly separates him from most players at his position,” said Wade, in his seventh year. “Touching 12 feet is a big number. Even though we’re working a lot with him on his blocking, at the end of the day, setting is the most important thing.

“He’s still learning how to run the offense, how to recognize where the defenders are and how to use his pieces to counter that. He’s unique in the league. You look at him and don’t expect to see full armpits coming at you on the block, but he’s up there. You don’t see many pogo sticks playing that position.”

Coming into the week, Franciskovic was second nationally in assists (11.57) and the Warriors were No. 1 in kills (14.65 kps). The high school All-American out of Oaks Christian (Calif.) High had been in the USA Volleyball High Performance pipeline since 2010 but never made the national teams until last summer, when he and Warriors junior hitter Kupono Fey played for the U.S. Junior National Team that took silver at the U21 Pan American Cup and 11th at the U21 World Championship.

Decision time

It continues to show that Franciskovic made the right choice in giving up his first love — basketball — and share his father Matt’s passion for volleyball.

“I didn’t want to do ‘his’ sport,” Franciskovic said of his father, who played on the AVP Tour. “But when my brother (Carter) decided to try out for club when I was in sixth (grade), I went along and, after 10 minutes, I said, OK, I want to do this.’”

There’s been no regrets since, and especially no regrets about his choice to play for Hawaii. Franciskovic said he “fell in love” with the volleyball atmosphere on his official visit when he attended a Rainbow Wahine match.

“This is the only place where volleyball is a big thing, the only place that has the same appreciation for the sport that I have,” he said. “It’s one big family here.”

It begins with Franciskovic, an AVCA honorable mention All-American last year. In his second year as the starting setter, he feels comfortable in the role, embracing that this has become his team. His is still a “degree first” mind-set, but “if the opportunity presents itself, I’d like to see where volleyball takes me,” he said.

This season, that would be to Penn State, where the Nittany Lions are hosting the national tournament in May. That’s a chapter that Franciskovic and the Warriors hope to write, their great expectations met.