Warriors feeling good as Stanford comes to town

On the final day of January, the Hawaii volleyball team had its first full practice in the Stan Sheriff Center.

"It’s not a conspiracy theory," said UH coach Charlie Wade, whose Warriors play third-ranked Stanford tonight and Saturday night. "It’s just the way it worked out. (Facility managers) have tried to be fair and equitable."

The Warriors had a rocky start — opening the season in Utah’s thin air and then being bumped from arena practices before road matches against Long Beach State two weeks ago — but now their world has found balance. Part of it was the Warriors’ two-match sweep of Pepperdine last week, part was the establishment of roles. Practice has been intense and spirited this week.

"I think everybody is less edgy," said Wade, whose Warriors are now 3-6 overall and 2-4 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. "Losing has a tendency to not sit well with anyone — the players, the coaches, the trainer."

Volleyball is about serving and passing, and the Warriors improved both areas with two lineup changes. Brook Sedore, who was the serving specialist for the first seven matches, started at opposite attacker against Pepperdine. JP Marks then moved from opposite to left-side hitter.

As the opposite, Sedore gets swings from the front and back right in five of six rotation turns. As the starter, he serves about three times a set instead of once.

Marks is more comfortable on the left side, where he becomes a primary passer. Marks also is a better blocker on the left side. Wade said Marks and fellow German, former Warrior Jonas Umlauft, both struggled blocking from the right side.

"Maybe it’s a German thing," Wade said. "They’re so analytical. They’re worried about what the middle’s doing. They’re worried about what the back-row attacker’s doing. And they’re late a lot of times (on the block). JP’s blocking is much better on the left than the right."

Wade said Marks had a strong week of practice. He said he expects Marks to emerge as the go-to hitter.

"He can be that guy," Wade said.

Brian Cook, a 6-foot-5 junior, fills that role for Stanford.

"He’s our best attacker," Stanford coach John Kosty said of Cook, who averages 4.25 kills per set and is hitting .317.

Cook can play outside hitter or opposite — sometimes both in the same match.

"We put him where we feel we need him," Kosty said. "We try to get him swings where we think he’s going to be successful."

Cook developed his volleyball skills on the Santa Cruz beaches.

"He came in with a lot of all-around game, but not a lot of indoor experience," Kosty said. "He’s coming on this year. He spent two years learning the MPSF. Now he’s showing everybody what he learned."

Outside hitter Steve Irvin, meanwhile, is an accomplished indoor player. He won a California state championship and a Junior Olympic title in the same year.

"We can count on him night in and night out," Kosty said.

Setter James Shaw is one of the nation’s top freshmen. His father, Don Shaw, was a long-time head coach of the Cardinal’s men’s and women’s teams.

"This is a business trip for us," Kostsy said. "It’s the MPSF. Hawaii’s a good team. We’ve got to try to compete with them."