Aloha ball for diverse group of Warrior volleyball seniors
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
A group of four can be "fab," as in the Beatles, or "fantastic," as in comic book heroes, but the University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team's four seniors have managed to defy description.
UH senior outside hitter Costas Theocharidis hopes to get the last laugh against USC in this weekend's matches.
Middle blocker Brian Nordberg and outside hitters Costas Theocharidis, Tony Ching and Eyal Zimet share the common ground of having little in common.
Theocharidis is from Greece, Zimet from Israel, Nordberg from Wisconsin and Ching from Hawai'i.
Nordberg is light-spirited, using shoelaces or Saran Wrap as headbands.
Theocharidis is demonstrative. The enduring image of UH's 2002 championship is not Theochari-dis' winning kill but his Mad Greek scramble as he raced around the court in search of a hug.
Ching uses an adrenaline-fueled rage to hit over taller blockers. Zimet was picked as team captain because of his on-court cool.
"I've kind of marveled how athletics brought us together," Nordberg said. "I would never know a guy from Greece or Israel if it weren't for volleyball. That brought us together. That's kind of cool."
NORDBERG
CHING
ZIMET
Theocharidis said: "And I would never meet somebody from Wisconsin without volleyball. The good thing is, not only do you learn stuff from these guys and their cultures, I was blessed to get along with great guys. You could have random guys from Wisconsin, Israel and Hawai'i, but they might not be nice guys. I was blessed to meet these great guys."
Each took a different path to Manoa. Zimet pursued college after serving three years in the Israeli Army. Theocharidis sent an audition tape to the UH coaches. Nordberg transferred from UC Santa Barbara two years ago. Ching joined UH as a non-scholarship player after failing to receive a Division I offer.
"People have recruiting lists and Fab 50s, but they don't mean much," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "There are players out there. You just have to find them, and sometimes get lucky."
Entering their final regular-season matches tomorrow and Saturday against Southern California, Theocharidis is the program's career kill leader, Zimet is the team's best passer, Nordberg is the starting middle blocker and Ching has been the go-to hitter during the last month. Neglect, Ching has said, has led to motivation.
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• WHO: Southern California (6-23, 2-18 MPSF) vs. Hawai'i (21-5, 15-5). • WHEN: Tomorrow and Saturday, 7 p.m. • WHERE: Stan Sheriff Center. • RADIO/TV: 1420 AM/KFVE Cable 5. • PROMOTION: First 500 UH students with IDs will be admitted free Saturday night. • CEREMONY: Seniors Brian Nordberg, Costas Theocharidis, Tony Ching and Eyal Zimet will be honored after Saturday's match.
We've all had that feeling of rejection," Ching said. "We want to prove everybody wrong. When I play a school that didn't return my letters, for sure, that's a driving force. That's a common ground for all of us."
MPSF matches
The four seniors are on track to earn their degrees. Nordberg, a finance major, will participate in next month's commencement ceremony. Theocharidis, who is majoring in international business, graduates in December. Zimet, a computer science major, and Ching, who is majoring in business management, will earn degrees next year.
"We're lucky to be on the same team at the same time," Zimet said.
Theocharidis said: "We might be from different places and we might speak different languages, but what brings us together is the universal sport of volleyball. I feel these guys have become my brothers. As the semester progresses and we're coming to the end of the season, I feel a part of me is going away. Hopefully, we can remain friends for years to come."
