It is almost time for another practice on another day in an already long season and yet ...

The five University of Hawai'i volleyball seniors are upbeat, as always, as if a photographer forgot to tell them to stop saying, "cheese."

Outside hitter José José Delgado, despite a sore throat that forced him to miss the past two matches, is laughing as he talks on his cell phone. "He'll be on his cell even when he's in his casket," athletic trainer Tara Humphreys once joked.

The team's tallest and shortest players — 6-foot-9 middle blocker Mauli'a LaBarre and 5-10 Alfee Reft — exchanged wise-acre comments.

Matt Carere and Johnny Matt Bender — roommates and outside hitters — sprint-walk to Gym I.

"We've won 17 in a row," said Carere, the floor captain. "There's no reason not to be happy."

Their season-long, feel-good mood, it seems, is more than win deep.

"Of course, winning helps," LaBarre said. "But even if we were having a mediocre season, we'd still be happy. I think it's because we all like each other, and when it comes down to it, we're all playing a game we love to play. We've all gone through a lot of things, but we know we're lucky. Not everyone can do what they love. That's why it's going to be sad when it's over. We're going to miss the games, the practices, the whole experience."

The five seniors are on the clock. Their final regular-season matches are against Brigham Young Friday and Saturday. The playoffs follow. Each senior will earn a bachelor's degree next month. Then they will start the rest of their lives.

"It's been so much fun," Reft said. "That's why I hate when I'm asked to pick my favorite memory. It's tough to pick just one."

Here's a look at this class of 2006:

THE TRANSFER

Before he became the nation's best back-row specialist, Reft struggled in the front line.

It was the summer of 2003, and Reft was trying to save enough to transfer from UC Santa Barbara to UH.

"I was a front-end worker at a Costco," he recalled. "It was not fun. They were undermanned, and I had to work a lot. There were no discounts for employees. Nothing. They had a cool employee room, I guess."

His assignment was to move items from a shopper's cart into a box, then place the box in another cart. "I never understood why you had to move the stuff from cart to cart," he said. "I asked about it, and they said, 'It's procedure.' "

Reft decided to transfer after being told that Aaron Mansfield would be UCSB's permanent libero. "He solidified the spot, and that was kind of expressed to me," Reft recalled.

He turned rejection into motivation. He beat out UH senior Jake Schkud for the starting job in 2004, was named Volleyball Magazine's Defensive Player of the Year in 2005, and set UH's career dig record this season. In June, he will train with the U.S. national team in Anaheim, Calif.

"It's a cliche, I know, but I wanted to be the best I could be," he said. "I wanted to prove I could play."

THE VETERAN

LaBarre's road to glory began on Frank Street, a three-block incline on Saint Louis Heights. First-year Warriors must complete the distance in 2 minutes; older players in 1 minute, 50 seconds.

"No matter what condition you're in, that hill will kick you in the butt," said LaBarre, a 2000 Roosevelt High School graduate. "For everyone, it's tough. But for me, it was really tough. If you don't make it, you can't be a Warrior. It's a great test."

It's symbolic of LaBarre's difficult ascent. He played in 2001, spent two years on a church mission in Russia, and then rejoined the Warriors in 2004. Each year he has to fight for playing time. He opened this season on the sideline, but since earning a starting job, the Warriors have won 18 of 19 matches.

"I feel honored to be a part of this program," he said. "These fans have been watching for 25 years. To play in front of them is really special. I can't believe it when we play against the alumni. When I was a kid, I used to watch them and go, 'Wow.' When I used to see them at the mall, I'd ask them for their autograph. Now I get to be part of the crew."

THE FLOOR CAPTAIN

During his spare time while growing up in Victoria, British Columbia, Carere developed into a skilled craftsman who made his own furniture.

"I love to build things," he said, most notably a volleyball career that was left for dead wood in November 2004.

During an exhibition against Alberta, Carere, who had redshirted in 2004 after transferring from Camosun College in Canada, felt "a sharp pain in my lower back. I knew exactly when I did it. One swing is all it took."

He had aggravated a back injury originally suffered while playing beach volleyball. He lost his chance to break into the UH lineup, and it took two more months "to get it back to regular form. And even then I was still worried about it."

The one thing that caused no concern was Carere's accurate passing. During practices, Carere repeatedly parlayed even the most sizzling serves into high passes. With eight matches left in the 2005 regular season, Carere was named to the starting rotation.

Carere spent last summer working out and "being healthy." During fall training, he was one of the top point scorers in a system evaluating practices and scrimmages.

"With good health comes confidence," he said.

At the end of fall training, Carere, who is majoring in chemistry and aspires to become a doctor, was voted as floor captain. It is a role he has served at every level in volleyball.

In Carere's high school, the year-ending prom was tied to graduation. It wasn't the same as an American prom, he said. There was no court. No king or queen. "The year ends and then you go to the prom," he said.

It is his wish that this season will end similarly with a trip to the Big Dance.

THE MAN

Delgado has admittedly matured since enrolling at UH in August 2001, when he was 17.

"I've had my ups and downs here in Hawai'i," he said. "But I wouldn't change it for anything. I've become a man."

He was a part-time starter on the UH team that defeated Pepperdine in the national championship match in 2002. He redshirted in 2003, then came back to win — and lose — a starting job three times. At one point, he considered transferring, but decided that mother knows best.

"She knew I could fight through it and be successful in this program," he said.

In fall training in 2004, Delgado complained of back pain. Medical tests showed he was born without an L-5, one of the lumbar spine's vertebrae.

The condition requires intensive treatment before and after each match. Now, he said, "I try to think of every match as the last one of my life," he said.

That urgency has helped Delgado develop into the Warriors' top attacker this year. He averages 4.33 kills per game.

"I don't worry about things," he said. "I have faith in God. God brought me here, and I feel blessed every day."

THE ARIZONA KID

Most of this semester, Bender has worked on solving a tangled Web.

He's part of a team of students trying to revamp the Information Computer Science department's Web site. "It's a slow moving project, but we're getting it done," he said.

Bender, who is majoring in computer science, always has been fascinated with subjects such as physics and mathematics. He said his interests were sparked in a computer programming class in high school.

"We had to do problem-solving puzzles," he said. "There's only one right answer, but you get a bunch of different tries to get the right answer when you're on the computer."

Because of his computer skills, he said, "my friends used to call me the 'King of the Nerds.' "

Bender's easy-going nature and team spirit helped him resolve a potential problem with his playing time this year. Bender was regarded as the Warriors' top attacker before suffering a severe ankle injury on the second day of training camp. By the time he recovered, the Warriors had settled on a lineup.

But Bender has not griped about his new role as the top backup at the three outside positions. "I'm just happy to be a part of this," he said.

He recalled his journey from Arizona, a hotbed for ... hot sand. His options were: Pay his way to UH or pay his way to the University of Arizona.

"I've been grateful for the whole thing," he said. "I still think about how far I've come from being the kid from Arizona."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.