Warrior volleyball team ranked No. 1 in poll

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

The defending national champion University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team is ranked No. 1 in the year's first USA Today/ American Volleyball Coaches Association poll.

"I think it's something to always acknowledge and be grateful for," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "It can have the shelf life of poke. Some people are afraid of such things, but why should you be? If it happens, embrace it and continue to try and be a hunter instead of a target."

The Warriors received 14 of a possible 16 first-place votes in the polling of AVCA coaches. One of the snubs was surprising.

"Actually, I'll be honest about it, I didn't vote us No. 1," Wilton said. "I need to see more. When I know more, when I'm sure we are (No. 1), I'll vote us that."

UC Irvine (5-0), which received one first-place vote, is ranked second, followed by UCLA and Penn State. The Anteaters have victories over UCLA, Pepperdine, UC Santa Barbara and Stanford.

Penn State, which received the other No. 1 vote, and No. 7 Ball State will compete in the Outrigger Hotels Volleyball Invitational, which begins tomorrow night in the Stan Sheriff Center. The round robin, which also includes an all-star team from Shanghai, goes through Saturday night.

"It's always good to be recognized," UH setter Kimo Tuyay said. "It's way too early in the season. It's almost like one of those preseason polls, and they don't mean anything. In the beginning of the season, people will be shifting up and down at every single spot."

Opposite hitter Eyal Zimet, the Warriors' team captain, also downplayed the significance of the early ranking.

"It's just a prediction," Zimet said. "It's flattering, a flattering prediction, and we'll have to live up to it. There's a long road to achieving it. The ranking is not the achievement."

Instead, the Warriors are focusing on the Outrigger tournament. UH, Penn State and Ball State were in last year's NCAA final four.

UH middle blocker Brian Nordberg, who still is recovering from shoulder surgery in September, is not expected to compete.

Nordberg said his right shoulder is "a little sore when I hit. I don't think I can hit 100 percent right now or block 100 percent. It should be soon. I haven't quite made a full decision (on whether to play in the Outrigger), but right now, I'd rather wait it out. I'd like to be back, but then again, I'm not in a huge rush."

Nordberg said he would prefer to be available for UH's Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener against Stanford Jan. 22.

Because of his participation in an international tournament last year, outside hitter Pedro Azenha of Brazil will not play in UH's matches against Penn State Thursday and Ball State Friday. He will make his UH debut against Shanghai Oriental Saturday.

"I've been waiting for a long time to play here," he said. "It's going to be a great experience, a great day for me. I hope everything will go right."