And so it begins.
For Hawaii, the men’s volleyball preseason favorite for the first time in program history, the 20-20 vision is clear for 2020: finish in that same No. 1 spot at the end of the season.
The 4,812-mile journey to Fairfax, Va., site of May’s NCAA championship, started Sunday with the first of six practices prior to Friday’s season opener with Charleston. There were 21 in the gym, with experienced and untested players vying for playing time.
All are hungry.
All united in the common goal of bringing home the elusive national title.
There’s also a sense of humility. Heavy is the head that wears the preseason crown, heavy is the back that wears the bull’s-eye.
“For us, we just need to do our thing and not let it go to our heads,” All-American junior libero Gage Worsley said. “I don’t think being No. 1 really makes a difference. I know other teams will be looking at that, that we have that target on us.
“People were going after us last year, people have chased us before. We have had that pressure. We can handle it.”
Hawaii is coming off one of its best seasons, going 28-3, winning a program-record 25 straight matches and a national-record 74 consecutive sets, claiming its first conference tournament championship and finishing second nationally after falling to Long Beach State last May. In any other season, the Warriors just might be hanging a banner prior to Friday’s opener against the Golden Eagles in the Stan Sheriff Center.
Long Beach State and Hawaii were clearly the best two teams of 2019. The Beach was six points better after defeating the Warriors 23-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-23 at the Pyramid on May 4.
But that memory is nearly nine months old. Plenty of time to have used it for motivation, plenty of time to move on with this year’s team.
“This is a group that will be unique to itself and we’ll see where it ends,” Hawaii coach Charlie Wade said. “This group has done a pretty good job of keeping it real, keeping the focus on what maters.
“I don’t think we feel any additional pressure with the ranking. It’s a reflection on the amount of hard work, not only of what this group has done but what has been done for years by the (coaching) staff, the support staff and the players are gone who helped establish the work ethic and the culture here.”
Volleyball is a culture unto itself, one that needs no translation. It’s why 6-foot-7 freshman middle Guilherme Voss said the transition from his native Brazil to Manoa has been smooth.
“Everyone has been so welcoming, done a great job welcoming the new players, especially the international ones,” said Voss, one of five foreign players on the roster. “There are a lot of top players here who have impressed me. The team as a whole has a good spirit, everyone is committed to the team.
“I was glad to see everyone was in shape, at the same speed and tempo that we left off in fall. We had a really good preseason and have a good team this year with the newcomers able to help.”
Hawaii went 6-1 during its fall exhibition tour in California, playing seven matches in four days in late October. The Warriors looked in midseason form then; there was little drop-off Sunday in Gym 1 with the three setters connecting well on combination plays and step-outs.
Hawaii’s strength again will be its depth with three setters, three opposites, three liberos, five middles and seven outside hitters. It’s a good problem, but still a problem, when deciding who will play and when.
The biggest battle will be to replace graduated All-American setter Joe Worsley. The choices are 6-6 redshirt junior Jackson Van Eekeren, 6-6 sophomore Jakob Thelle and 6-2 redshirt freshman Brett Sheward.
“They’ll all get in at one time or another,” Wade said of his setter options. “It’s not depth unless you play it and we’ll roll them out there. The fact that we’ve been able to go straight A side-B side and be really competitive, with the B side sometimes winning, is a good sign.
“What we continue to remind the guys is to make sure that who we are is who we intend to be.”
