But UH coach Mike Wilton said Thomas, an All-American last season, will not play tomorrow and "I don't even think about" his return date.

That means 6-foot-8 Dionisio Dante, a third-year sophomore, will make his fourth consecutive start in Thomas' absence. Mauli'a LaBarre, a 6-9 junior, is the other starting middle.

"Dio is doing a pretty good job," Wilton said.

Against top-ranked Brigham Young, Dante hammered 10 kills (in 12 swings, hitting .750). In the past two matches, he is averaging 1.71 blocks per game.

Despite two aces, Dante lacks Thomas' momentum-dictating power serves. Without Thomas, the Warriors' rotation features three jump servers.

Wilton said Kyle Klinger, who recently completed duty in the Air Force, will receive some playing time.

"Kyle is improving, and he gives us another guy we can play in the middle," Wilton said.

Wilton said he will wait until after today's practice to decide between José José Delgado and Lauri Hakala at one of the outside positions. Both are good passers, a key in the Warriors' three-passer schemes.

But Delgado, who has started the three matches, has been erratic offensively. He had a match-high 20 kills in the season opener against Penn State, but was pulled against BYU after committing five attack errors in 10 swings.

Hakala, a first-year sophomore from Finland, is hitting .450.

"We have a two-headed player with Lauri and José," Wilton said. "They're doing battle right now."

Wilton acknowledges that Delgado is a respected leader and accurate passer. But, Wilton said, "I understand we need to put the ball away at left front. I want to see what happens through (today's) practice."

UH outside hitter Matt Carere resumed practicing yesterday morning.

Carere emerged from fall training as a candidate for a starting job. But he aggravated a back injury in an exhibition against Alberta, and has not played in a match since.

Wilton prohibited Carere from competing in matches or practice until he was able to spike without pain.

Wilton will decide today whether Carere is included on the 12-player active roster for tomorrow's match.

The Matadors, who are scheduled to arrive in Honolulu today, also have unresolved situations. Their best outside hitter, Cary Hanson, is suffering from a nerve injury in his elbow.

"Hopefully, Cary Hanson will be available to play," Northridge coach Jeff Campbell said. "He hasn't been able to take some swings in about a week."

Campbell said Hanson is "our best passer and our best attacker and our best server on the team."

Starting opposite hitter Dan Rhodes is suffering from an injured right (hitting) hand.

"He's been playing," Campbell said, "but he definitely hasn't been playing to his level."

The Matadors have four first-year starters, including senior setter Jeff Conover.

"They're not freshmen, but they haven't had that court experience with us yet," Campbell said.

The Matadors were expected to take time to develop this season. But they played well in fall training camp, and pushed UCLA to five games in the title match of the UCSB/E-Bar Invitational.

Last week, the Matadors won the first two games before falling to fifth-ranked Long Beach State, a national finalist last year.

"We're capable of playing pretty well at times," Campbell said. "The consistency is certainly a factor. We ended up losing to Long Beach, and that was kind of a heart-breaker."

Video exchange part of match preparation

The MPSF's video-exchange program, which allows a school to request two match tapes from an opposing school, is forcing UH into strategic planning. The key, according to the UH coaches, is asking for a tape that includes a match between an immediate opponent and upcoming opponent.

Wilton said UH, like most of the MPSF schools, subscribes to the DataVolley digital-video program. A laptop computer controls a camera, which records on both digital and video recorders.

The program automatically sorts footage. For instance, by punching in a code, UH can find footage of all of Delgado's serves.

The program costs $1,000 a season, and UH pays for it through the operating budget and booster-club account.

Wilton said schools with small gyms, such as Pepperdine and UC Irvine, have built platforms behind the end line to record matches.

"Hopefully, you put a libero up there to protect the camera," Wilton said. "I remember when I was coaching at Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo). A spiked ball smashed our camera. That wasn't a good thing."