LONG BEACH, Calif. >> It’s a comfort thing. Much like a night light.
No need to question or worry. It’s just there.
So it has been for the Worsley brothers ever since Gage showed up, 16 months after Joe was born.
So it has been this season where the two — senior setter Joe and sophomore libero Gage — have helped No. 1 Hawaii to a top seed in today’s NCAA semifinal against Lewis.
“We always tell people about the connection we have,” Joe Worsley said. “I know what he’s going to do, he knows what I’m going to do.
“In the biggest moments, I know he’s always going to come through. When you’re playing in a program like Hawaii with so much pressure, you need that presence, that kind of comfort.”
It’s been evident this season, when Gage replaced graduated All-American Tui Tuileta at libero. There was only one thing anyone who questioned how it was going to work needed to know: This combination has been nearly two decades in the making.
The bedroom volleyball started early, long before the two could officially play together at the club level. The peppering began then, putting the bunk-bed ladder between them, batting balloons and balls, banging away at each other.
There’s a reason it’s called defense.
Although the name Gage can be translated to “defiance,” it was Joe who was set on defying the odds and most coaches’ insistence that he be a libero in college, and not a setter. Like the great quarterback he was named after, Joseph Montana Worsley’s aptitude was in running an offense.
Plus, if the 6-foot-1 Joe was going to be a libero, it meant that he and 6-1 Gage — trained at that position — would never play together in college. They could never be on the same court at the same time, unless it was on opposing teams.
They drew inspiration from the Shoji brothers, setter Kawika and libero Erik, who played together at Stanford, eventually leading the Cardinal to the 2010 NCAA championship. The Worsleys were ball boys for Stanford during that title run, a time when father Roger was on the Cardinal staff.
“It’s crazy to think about it,” said Gage Worsley, who was 11 and Joe nearly 13 when Stanford won at home in Maples Pavilion against Penn State. “We’re the same age, same level now that they were then (Kawika a senior, Erik a sophomore). We saw their leadership, the chemistry they had on and off the court. Great players and great people.
“We were lucky, hung out with them, had pizza after the games. It was really special. It’s reminiscent of what is happening for us now.”
That parallel continued on Monday when the Worsleys became the second set of brothers to be named first-team All-Americans in the same year; the first were the Shojis in 2010. Coincidentally — or not — one brother is a setter, the other a libero.
“They are like brothers to Kawika and I,” Erik Shoji said in a text from Russia, where he is playing professionally. “We used to pepper and play 2-on-2 before our matches, I think Joe and I and Kawika and Gage. The games were really competitive and fun.
“I remember opponent coaches being so impressed with their skills and ball control at such a young age. I am so proud of them and wish them and the entire Hawaii team good luck in the NCAA tournament.”
“They could not get enough volleyball,” said Kawika Shoji, currently playing in Poland. “They were impressive then and they are impressive now.
“I think Erik and I loved watching them because they reminded us of ourselves from 10 years before. They are also undersized athletes that use their skill and knowledge to play at such a high level. In an era of social media highlight reels, it’s a breath of fresh air to see guys like them play the right way using basics and smart decision-making.”
It wasn’t by accident. Just like the Shojis, the brothers were sons of a coach, growing up in gyms. The Worsleys have early memories of running around the Stan Sheriff Center when Roger was on Dave Shoji’s Rainbow Wahine staff in 2000.
Roger, who was born in Honolulu, and wife Christine later founded Pacific Rim Academy in Pleasant Hill, Calif. Volleyball is a family lifestyle.
“I recognized their strengths, what they possessed,” Roger Worsley said. “They played on the beach together, developed all the good habits there.
“Even though Joe was on the national team as a libero, it was not a great love of his. I told him not to acquiesce to what others wanted, that he owed it to himself to give it a shot (as a collegiate setter).
“Hawaii gave him that shot and it opened the door for Gage to join him.”
Bottom line, said the rap artist known as G Swizzle, “I wanted two more years to play with my brother. And we’re still sharing a bedroom.”
“When I left high school, I thought that might be the last time we played together,” Joe said. “Then he chose Hawaii. I’ve been pretty spoiled, not just because he’s my brother, but because he’s the best libero in the country. I’m spoiled to have this special connection with him.”
Impressively, the brothers rank 1-2 for Hawaii in both assists and digs, Joe leading the country in assists and Gage No. 5 in digs.
They’re still pepper partners. They still share a bedroom.
The night light called comfort is always on.
NCAA MEN’S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
At Long Beach, Calif.
Today’s semifinals
>> Hawaii (27-2) vs. Lewis (26-5), 2 p.m.
>> Long Beach State (26-2) vs. Pepperdine (23-6), 4:30 p.m.
Saturday’s final
>> Semifinal winners, 2 p.m.
TV: ESPN2 (Saturday only)
Radio: 1420-AM / 92.7-FM (Hawaii matches only)
Online: NCAA.com/BigWest.tv
