The Hawai'i men's volleyball team's starting lineup has been a weekly job fair, but one position is probably off the market.

Jarrod Lofy, an unlikely candidate in fall training, is expected to start once again at middle blocker when the Warriors host New Jersey Institute of Technology tonight in the Stan Sheriff Center.

UH coach Mike Wilton said Lofy is the leading contender for one of the middle positions. Steven Grgas, who is moving back from opposite, and Matt "Dragon" Rawson are competing for the other spot.

Grgas and Rawson are both juniors, and they entered the season with more volleyball experience — and, it appeared, better skills — than Lofy, a second-year freshman.

But Lofy is a diligent worker, and he consistently earns the top scores among the middles in practices and matches.

In sports parlance, Lofy has a good "work ethic."

"Work ethic is something you don't teach," Wilton said.

"Work ethic means," Lofy said, "that I'll do whatever it takes."

Lofy has become proficient in attacking quick sets. He also has improved his block reads. The thing is, Lofy came close to not returning to UH after redshirting last season.

Lofy was intent on pursuing a degree in architecture when he enrolled at UH in August 2007. But non-residents majoring in that field do not receive a tuition discount.

Non-resident students taking a full load are charged $8,300 per semester.

The solution was for Lofy to switch fields. He is now majoring in civil engineering, a field that is part of the Western Undergraduate (WUE) program, which offers discounts to students from certain states. As a California resident, Lofy is charged the WUE rate — 1 1/2 times the resident tuition fee of $2,976 per semester. His tuition is now $4,464 per semester, a savings of $7,672 per year.

He supplemented his expenses by making Longs a part of his night.

"I stocked shelves at Longs (in Long Beach) during the summer," said Lofy, whose shift started at midnight. "It was hard work."

But not nearly as difficult as overcoming his inexperience. Lofy did not begin to play volleyball until high school, and he first joined a club team as a junior.

Lofy helped fill a void in the middle. Keali'i Frank did not return for his sophomore season, and Rawson had offseason surgery on his right (swinging) shoulder. Rawson also has a subluxed left shoulder.

While Lofy is tailor-made for the Warriors, away from the court he is fashionably unique. In school, he will wear either a fedora or Borsalino hat.

He orders almost all of his wardrobe from online sites.

For Christmas, he received a suit, which he wore on the flight to the Warriors' first road trip this season.

"I really like wearing it," he said.

NOTE

Left-side hitter Steven Hunt, who suffered a fractured right (hitting) hand last month, has been cleared to pass during practices. He worked out yesterday. An X-ray Monday will determine whether he can compete in the hitting drills. If he is cleared, he has a chance to play in next week's matches against UC Irvine.

Visit Tsai's blog at http://warriorbeat.honadvblogs.com.