Leonard and Clair Fernandes had planned to watch University of Hawai'i volleyball last night from the comfort of their living room. Instead, they were sitting at a packed Eastside Bar & Grill in Manoa with friends, chomping on an appetizer and craning their necks to watch the next play on an overhead television.

All in all, it wasn't too bad.

Still, they would have preferred to watch at home.

"We're mad," said Clair Fernandes, who called her cable television provider hours before yesterday's game only to learn she wouldn't have access to it. The game was televised on ESPNU, which is not available on Oceanic Time Warner Cable in Hawai'i.

Oceanic is by far the largest cable provider in the Islands, and UH volleyball home games are usually broadcast on K5. Only some satellite systems get ESPNU.

"I know a lot of other people who are also disappointed," said Leonard Fernandes, who has been a diehard UH volleyball fan — along with his wife — since the 1970s.

For the thousands of fans who didn't have tickets, news that the game wouldn't be available on their home TV sets sent them scrambling to sports bars.

At Eastside Grill, the crowd was standing-room-only by 5 p.m., and fans were still calling owner Robbie J. Acoba to see whether he was showing the match.

"We never anticipated so many people," Acoba said, shouting over the loud din of the bar. "But I want to accommodate as many as possible. I'm a sports fanatic."

He added that even other bars were calling him to ask whether he had the game.

The NCAA Honolulu Regional final volleyball match between UCLA and the University of Hawai'i kicked off at 6:30 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center. It was a sad event for the more than 7,000 fans in attendance as UCLA swept Hawai'i.

By 4:30 p.m., James Vasconcellos was already sitting comfortably at a high table at Eastside Grill, a pitcher of beer sitting between him and his friend.

With a chuckle, and a swig of beer, Vasconcellos said he's been a UH volleyball fan "from birth" and wasn't about to miss last night's game.

"I knew Robbie had ESPN," he said, talking about the owner of the sports bar.

Don Smith said he's been a UH volleyball fan for a long time and was surprised when he couldn't find the game on his television's program guide.

"I still don't understand why it's not on TV," Smith said.

Eddie Fries, who has been following UH volleyball for 25 years, was having a bite to eat at Eastside Grill before heading over to the game last night. He said he felt sorry for residents on the Neighbor Islands, who don't have as many bars with the game.

"What a bummer," he said.

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.