Lee Cataluna: An example for dealing with the inevitable

There is no use in trying to rank disappointment. So many plans and events have been canceled, just about everyone has a personal story of dashed expectations, be it an eagerly anticipated prom night that will never happen or long-held plans for a dream vacation that had to be called off.

In an attempt to ease the letdown, people are posting their children’s living room performances of songs that had been faithfully rehearsed for school plays that will now never see the stage. Teachers are sharing videos of their students’ practices for end-of-year concerts that will never be. There’s the list of official closures and cancellations, but also the personal losses of special events, gatherings, parties and rites of passage that have been sacrificed for the greater good of public health and safety.

But of all the closures and cancellations, the end of the University of Hawaii men’s volleyball season has a particular ache.

Hawaii loves volleyball. Hawaii has long loved volleyball, from the leagues organized by churches on Hawaii island decades ago to the glorious Dave Shoji era, from the legendary games played by both men’s and women’s teams in the old Klum gym to makule league matches where everybody jokes about arthritis but every player is still totally serious about winning. The game, particularly as played by the University of Hawaii teams, has had an immeasurable impact on our community’s morale and sense of unity and pride over the years.

Nobody knew it at the time, but the March 6 match against Brigham Young University would not only be one of the most exciting matches in the program’s history, but also the last match in a foreshortened season that was so full of promise. Coach Charlie Wade called it a “19-17 fifth-set barn burner” in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,000. It was perfectly plotted, a hard-fought comeback victory the night after a hugely disappointing loss to a longtime rival. What made it all the better was all the times a player celebrated a point by turning to the people in the stands as though every fan was part of the team. It’s a powerful thing when a sport transcends the game itself and becomes like a big church service or revival gathering, the sort of connection that reminds us how we’re all in this together.

Just a week later the players returned from a canceled road trip, looking a bit dazed in their statements to the media but nevertheless holding their heads up and speaking with a dignity that seemed to belie their years. If that BYU match was how their glory days of UH volleyball were going to end for seniors Rado Parapunov, Patrick Gasman, Colton Cowell and James Anastassiades, though it wasn’t what they expected, it was a heck of memory and an indelible mark of their character.

That’s the other side of it, too. While volleyball reminds us that mere mortals can fly, rising up impossibly high above the court, picking themselves up from the floor time and time again, it also now reminds us that the best-laid plans can change so quickly but that the same well of strength that gets us through the best days can get us through the bad.

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.