Punahou grads on a roll in beach volleyball

By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i's Kevin Wong and his beach volleyball partner finished in a respectable fifth-place tie in the 2000 Olympic Games at Sydney, Australia, last September.

But Wong felt he could do better.

So he dumped his Olympic partner, Rob Heidger, and asked his former Punahou and UCLA teammate, Stein Metzger, to be his new partner.

So far it's a match made of gold.

Wong and Metzger won the past two Association of Volleyball Professionals beach tournaments in California, sharing $35,000 in prize money, and are one of two U.S. teams playing in the Goodwill Games that started today in Brisbane, Australia.

Wong and Metzger played together on six-man indoor teams for six years, three years on state high-school championship winners at Punahou and three years at UCLA, where they played together on two NCAA championship teams and a runner-up. After Wong graduated, Metzger played on a third NCAA championship team, and shared the 1996 national Player of the Year award with Hawai'i's Yuval Katz.

"Stein and I had a lot better chemistry" (than he and Heidger), Wong said before leaving for Australia Sunday. "Rob and I were good but the team was not better than its parts.

"Stein and I bring out the best in each other and make each other better. We've had a great summer."

They have a 4-1 record against 2000 Olympic gold medalists Eric Fonoimoana and Dane Blanton, who are also at the Goodwill Games.

"We're starting a four-year program toward the next Olympics — Athens 2004," Metzger said. "Kevin took a chance by picking me up, but he thought he could do better with me. You've got to extend yourself to go for your dreams."

In addition to winning the AVP tournaments at Manhattan Beach, Calif., last weekend (where they beat Heidger and Fonoimoana in the final) and at Santa Barbara the weekend before, Wong and Metzger won a tournament on the premier international tour in Stagstadd, Switzerland, in June.

They were the fifth qualifier in history to win a tournament on the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) international tour, and they earned an exempt spot in the main draw for the future. "Qualifying in an FIVB event is as tough as a whole AVP tour event," Metzger said. "Only eight of 60 teams get in."

If the Olympic Games were this year, they would be the No. 1 U.S. team. Only two teams per country go. Their current world ranking is No. 5.

Making the transition from the six-man indoor game to be among the world's best on the beach has been a big challenge. "We never had the exposure or experience that California players had," Metzger said. "In California, there are youth and amateur tournaments every weekend, and there are a million volleyball courts up and down the Southern California beaches.

"Growing up in Hawai'i, all we had was the Outrigger Canoe Club and the big guys wouldn't let us play with them there."

Life on the pro tour is no day at the beach, but it has enabled Metzger to indulge in his other love — surfing. "I can afford surf trips now because of beach volleyball," he said. "I've been to Australia and Bali and this year I'm going to Costa Rica."

He even sneaked in surfing on the world tour one weekend when he and Wong were entered in a tournament at Espino, Italy. "I saw surf lines and ran down to the beach, rented a board at a shack and paddled out," Metzger said. "Kevin only caught me (surfing) once."

Metzger and Wong have been residing in Southern California since they joined the beach tour, but they plan to move home to Hawai'i after this season and make Hawai'i their home base next year. "One of my offseason goals is to organize beach tournaments in Hawai'i to help the sport in the Islands," Wong said.

SHORT SETS: Kevin Wong will be 29 on Sept. 12. He grew up in Pearl City and graduated from Punahou in 1990. His younger brother, Scott, is a member of the U.S. national team playing this week at the World University Games in Beijing and was chosen to carry the U.S. flag at the opening ceremonies because of his Chinese heritage. . . . Stein Metzger will be 28 on Dec. 30. He grew up in Manoa and graduated from Punahou in 1991 with Scott Wong. He has had 18 straight top 10 finishes on the AVP tour. . . . Punahou graduates Lee LeGrande, Wayne Seligson and Sean Scott also are on the tour. So are former University of Hawai'i players Albert Hannemann and Alika Williams. They are all ranked in the top 10 in points except Seligson, who is out with an injury.