Tuyay sets table for his teammates
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
A volleyball setter's role is not an easy one.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
There are the demands — "Set it high!" "Set it quick!" — and, on the University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team, the orders are shouted in as many as four languages.
UH teammate Dejan Miladinovic compares Kimo Tuyay's role as a setter to that of a waiter. "A waiter serving five tables can earn big tips," Miladinovic says. "When we're playing well, it pays off for Kimo."
Athletic skill is needed to chase down passes and critical thinking is necessary for making decisions at a finger snap's notice.
UH setter Kimo Tuyay has said his job is comparable to a waiter's, with every play being lunch time at a popular restaurant.
"It can be the worst job," UH middle blocker Dejan Miladinovic said, "or it can be the best. A waiter serving five tables can earn big tips. When we're playing well, it pays off for Kimo."
Said Tuyay: "It takes a while to get a sense for every situation, and to set it the way a hitter wants it to be set. It's hard, but it comes with the territory. I chose to be a setter. That's what I want to be, so it just takes a lot of practice and hard work."
Tuyay has been criticized for not setting the middle hitters enough or too often going to outside hitter Costas Theocharidis. In last week's playoff sweep of Long Beach State, Tuyay was lifted in the third game after struggling to read the block and track the 49ers' libero.
UH coach Mike Wilton said the move was temporary, giving Tuyay "a chance to refocus," and that Tuyay would have returned if the match extended to a fourth game.
"It's hard to say what went wrong," Tuyay said. "I'm trying to polish a few things."
Said Miladinovic: "He'll be fine. Anybody can have a bad night."
Earlier in the season, Tuyay played with two sprained fingers. But he said he is fine now, and his accuracy has not diminished.
Tuyay is a sophomore from San Diego and, at 19, the second-youngest UH starter. Still, he has embraced a leadership role.
"He's the quarterback of the team," Miladinovic said. "He's the brains. He is the leader on the court. He's done a good job. There's definitely improvement in his game. There's still more room to improve, but he's earned our respect and support."
