Team from Due West heads far west to face UH in volleyball

For the team from Due West, S.C., Hawaii is about as “due west” as it gets. Erskine College, the defending Conference Carolinas champion, makes its Outrigger Resorts Volleyball Invitational debut on Thursday against host Hawaii, a matchup of teams hoping to use the season’s opening tournament as a springboard into the tournament that counts: the NCAAs.

The Flying Fleet have been there twice in the past three postseasons, both times swept out of the NCAA play-in match (Stanford in 2014, Long Beach State last year). In 2015, it was the Rainbow Warriors who made it to the final six, falling to Penn State 3-1.

While Erskine doesn’t have the tradition of Hawaii — the school has only sponsored the sport since 2013 — “I think we’re already on the map,” first-year coach Justin Brubaker said. “But playing in Hawaii gets our name out there. It’s the next step for our program, to play a number of high-level teams.

“We’re excited. We know about Hawaii’s gym, how they pack it. We’ll see three quality teams and it’s a great start for our guys.”

It’s also a bit of a “Hello My Name Is” moment for the Fleet, with just four returnees from the 21-7 squad. The other 10 are freshmen and “we’ll see who steps up,” said Brubaker, a four-time All-American at Division III Cairn University. “There’s not one stand-out player, but we have a really good team.

“We are young and the positions are theirs to earn.”

While the field isn’t as glamorous as in years past, Hawaii coach Charlie Wade said the emphasis on the Ratings Percentage Index for the NCAA tournament at-large berth has led to the current situation.

“With the RPI becoming more critical, it wasn’t doing us any good to play a team in our league a third time,” he said. “Then when we made the decision to bring in the Conference Carolinas teams, Penn State and Ohio State weren’t that interested. But they’ll be back. And in 2018, we’ll have BYU here. It will get back to having the premier teams every year.

“Princeton has been very good in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, Erskine has been one of the better teams in their league and Ball State historically has been good. It will be a good test for us.”

A look at the field (last year’s record in parentheses):

No. 7 Hawaii (16-12): The Rainbow Warriors, the defending tournament champions, are 37-27 with seven titles. Hawaii, picked sixth in the MPSF preseason poll, returns 11 players, including seniors Jennings Franciskovic, a setter, outside hitters Kupono Fey and Iain McKellar, and middle Hendrik Mol. Sophomore opposite Stijn van Tilburg is the reigning Outrigger MVP. Among the top newcomers are Rado Parapunov (Fr. Opp, Bulgaria), Austin Matautia (Fr., OH, Moanalua), Larry Tuileta (R-So., L/OH, Punahou) and Patrick Gasman (R-Fr., MB, Clovis, Calif.).

No. 15 Ball State (20-9): The Cardinals are making their fifth Outrigger appearance and first since 2011. BSU, picked fourth in the preseason Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association poll, returns six starters, including preseason All-MIVA picks Brendan Surane, a 6-6 senior hitter, and 6-11 junior middle Matt Walsh. The setting spot will be a battle between 6-5 senior Connor Gross, a reserve the past three seasons, and freshmen Jake Romano (6-6) and Cortland Scharenborg (6-4).

Princeton (4-18): The Tigers are making their first appearance in the Outrigger, but not in the Stan Sheriff Center. Princeton made its only NCAA final four appearance in 1998, losing to Pepperdine in the semifinal, the last time the men’s national tournament was held at the Sheriff Center. All-EIVA junior middle Junior Oboh heads a young Tiger team that includes 6-11 freshman middle George Huhmann, who helped the USA Boys Youth National Team to seventh place at the U19 World Championships last summer.

Erskine (21-7): This not only is the the first time in Hawaii for the Flying Fleet but only the second time the program has ventured past the Mississippi (Erskine played two matches in California in 2014). The lone senior is 6-3 opposite Andres Talavera from Puerto Rico, but he and the other three returnees played sparingly last year (combined 35 sets). Erskine’s 14-man roster represents nine states, Guam and Puerto Rico.