Good but how good? And how soon?

Those are the questions the Hawaii men’s volleyball team hopes to start answering this fall.

Half of the Rainbow Warriors’ roster of 22 are freshmen, some of whom coach Charlie Wade expects to contribute immediately. The best of the bunch likely is Bulgarian national Rado Parapunov, a 6-foot-9 left-handed opposite who Wade describes as a hybrid of two former Hawaii All-Americans Yuval Katz and Jonas Umlauft.

That Parapunov is one of three heavy-hitting opposites speaks to the depth of this year’s Hawaii squad that is looking to improve on seventh place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, the Warriors’ final season in the conference before moving over to the Big West.

“It’s not that we just have more depth, but the quality of the depth has gotten better,” said Wade, entering his eighth season. “We have some really good young players who will complement our seniors.

“We’re going to learn together to find out what we’ve got and see who is going to emerge as that go-to guy.”

Last season, that role often was filled by the graduated Siki Zarkovic, the outside hitter who led the team in kills (398) and aces (20). The Warriors return two players who could be “that guy” in senior hitter Kupono Fey (261 kills, 15 aces) and sophomore opposite Stijn van Tilburg (333 kills, 18 aces).

Hawaii gets an early look at the possibilities with Friday’s preseason match against MPSF foe UC Irvine at the Stan Sheriff Center. There is no admission charge with open seating.

The Anteaters feature 7-foot freshman middle blocker Scott Stadick, considered by many as the top recruit in the country. UCI lost a “friendly” with Zhejiang of China last month, 21-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-22.

Hawaii defeated UCI twice last season, both matches at the Sheriff Center going five. Both the Warriors and the Anteaters, who finished eighth in the MPSF, lost in the first round of the conference tournament last April.

Wade said he expects battles at all positions from setter — it’s between senior Jennings Franciskovic and sophomore Joe Worsley — to libero. Looking to replace the graduated Kolby Kanetake are sophomores Mamane Namahoe and Colton Cowell, and 23-year-old freshman Evan Larochelle, a Waiakea High graduate who spent the past four years in the Air Force.

“A lot is going to depend on how good our freshmen are,” Wade said. “We are more physical. We have more guys who are serving 60-plus (mph) which will help us be better on serve-receive since we’ll see heaters consistently in practice.”

The battle at outside hitter will include sophomore Nainoa Frank, who is transitioning from middle, and true freshman Austin Matautia, the all-stater out of Moanalua.

“Austin is right there,” Wade said. “He’s physically so gifted and does things not many players can. He’s going to be a really good player for us.”

Hawaii also has an exhibition scheduled with SportConX at 7 p.m. on Nov. 16 at the Sheriff Center. Admission is free.