Posted on: Sunday, May 5, 2002
NOTEBOOK
UH gets big boost from big 'Warrior'
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A big factor — 292 pounds worth — was Vili Fehoko, who helped the turn Rec Hall into a homecourt advantage for the Hawai'i volleyball team.
Before Thursday's semifinal, UH president Evan Dobelle promised that if UH qualified for the title match, he would arrange for Fehoko to attend. UH won, and Dobelle kept his vow, paying for airplane tickets and lodging for Fehoko, his wife, Linda, and their four sons.
During home matches, Fehoko, who is promoted as "The Warrior," and his sons entertain fans by leading cheers, banging on drums and, through war-painted faces, staring down opposing players.
Fehoko received the invitation Thursday night. Linda Fehoko then used coconut ribs to make 200 haku lei.
Arriving yesterday, Fehoko immediately went to work, passing out the haku lei and stuffed animals to the crowd. Even before the singing of the national anthem, most of the standing-room-only crowd of 5,357 was decidedly in support of the Warriors.
Penn State students participated in chants of "Let's go 'Bows," and even a few Pepperdine fans wore the haku lei.
"My plan was to come here and bring a lot of stuff," Fehoko said. "I wanted the crowd to cheer for us."
Said UH outside hitter Tony Ching: "That definitely changed everything. They made this court our court."
During the introductions, the UH starters tossed haku lei into the crowd.
"It created a home-court atmosphere," UH middle blocker Dejan Miladinovic said. "We knew Vili would be here. He's been with us all year long. He's part of the team. He brought Hawai'i here."
Several members of the UH booster club also attended the match. They passed out green "Roof!" and "Ace!" cards to several Penn State fans.
Club president Basil Sparlin said the boosters spent Friday night making large green signs. Running out of inspiration, he called one of the boosters who usually brings large signs to matches in the Stan Sheriff Center.
"She came up with 'Jake in the Box' for Jake Muise, 'Kona Gold' for Daniel Rasay, and 'Chala-la-la' for JoJo Chala," Sparlin said. "It was a team effort."
. . .
• Bald promise: Last fall, UH assistant coach Tino Reyes promised to shave his hair and walrus-like mustache if the Warriors won a national title.
Reyes said he forgot the promise, but Muise did not, announcing the dare during a post-match party at the team's hotel.
Reyes said he will unveil his new look during the awards banquet tomorrow night at the Pacific Beach Hotel.
. . .
• To the winners ... : The Warriors will receive rings for winning the championship.
"Let's talk about the bling-bling," Rasay said.
UH coach Mike Wilton said the rings, to be paid for by the athletic department, "will be big suckers. I want them to feel like weights."
Wilton also said the team has met the school criteria for placing a banner in the Sheriff Center. Four banners honoring the Rainbow Wahine's national titles now hang in the arena.
Wilton said those banners need to increase in size, and he wants his team's banner, as well as the American and Hawai'i flags, to be large.
"We don't want a cloth towel," he said. "We want big banners for our team and for the women's teams."
