Posted on: Tuesday, December 28, 2004

Warriors complete first day of camp

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

The University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team yesterday opened training camp with a new look and renewed enthusiasm.

The Warriors unveiled their new practice outfits of black tank tops and black gym shorts.

In previous years, they wore board shorts, provided by Local Motion, for practices and matches. But Local Motion ended its sponsorship with the volleyball program at the end of last season. Asics, which does not manufacture board shorts, is providing the gym shorts for free.

Setter Brian Beckwith said he likes the gym shorts, although "I definitely miss the board shorts. After a lot of practices I went to the beach, and I could wear my practice (board) shorts in the water. ... But I don't really think it will matter. It's how we play, not how we look."

Before the start of yesterday's practice, opposite hitter Pedro Azenha and middle blocker Dionisio Dante apologized to teammates. They were suspended for the final month of fall training camp for violating undisclosed team rules. They were reinstated last week.

After the apology, UH coach Mike Wilton embraced Azenha and then Dante.

"I never had intention to harm the team," Azenha said. "Things happened. I was kind of lost without volleyball. Now I'm back on track."

It was the second time Azenha had been suspended for violating team rules. He refused to disclose the infraction.

"I think that's one thing that got me really sad," he said. "Everybody thinks I'm a troublemaker. I never got in trouble before (enrolling at UH in August 2002). I have a good relationship with everybody, I think. Everybody who knows me knows what kind of a person I really am."

Azenha is listed as the backup to opposite hitter Matt Bender for tomorrow's exhibition against Alberta in the Stan Sheriff Center. First serve is at 7 p.m.

Although Bender and Azenha are the team's best outside attackers, they are marginal passers, and the immediate plans do not call for both to play in the same lineup. In UH's three-passer system, the libero and two left-side hitters are required to start the offense.

José José Delgado has won a left-side job, and Lauri Hakala and Matt Carere are competing for the other. If the three "hold up their end," Wilton said, "we shouldn't have to" move Bender or Azenha to the left side.

Wilton said Delano Thomas, who is trying to complete outstanding academic work, is allowed to practice this week but not play against Alberta. Thomas, who was scheduled to return from the Mainland yesterday, did not practice yesterday.

Thomas, a senior, was an All-America middle blocker in 2003 before moving to outside hitter last season. Wilton said Thomas will return to the middle this season.

"The experiment," Wilton said of Thomas' work at outside hitter, "should be continued, but it needs to be done on someone else's clock, not ours. ... We ran the experiment all year long because he would have good games and then not-so-good games. I decided, you know what, we took an All-American middle blocker and made him a mediocre outside hitter. It's time to go back to what was successful."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.