No fans doesn’t mean low energy.
The atmosphere in SimpliFi Arena for Hawaii’s first home matches of the season won’t be anywhere near that of the Rainbow Warriors’ last appearance in Manoa.
But keeping the top-ranked Warriors engaged hasn’t been an issue for UH coach Charlie Wade through seven road matches, and he doesn’t anticipate they’ll have trouble staying focused despite missing the fans who have so often electrified their home venue over the years.
“They’re not taking any opportunity for granted. That’s a big part of this,” Wade said. “They recognize how fragile this whole thing was, how quickly it can go away, how appreciative we are of the number of people in the community that have stepped up, the number of people at the university. No one’s taking that for granted and we want to make sure those efforts are rewarded by our full effort. They deserve that 100%.”
Plus, there will still be some familiar faces in the stands when No. 1 UH (7-0, 2-0 Big West) faces No. 12 UC San Diego (1-5, 1-1) today and Saturday.
“We haven’t been in there, but in watching some of the basketball games, it sounded like those cutouts can make a lot of noise,” Wade joked. “I don’t know what they’ve got planned for men’s volleyball, but I know during basketball those cutouts were into it. We need the cutouts to step up.”
Of course, piped-in crowd noise, even if it were pumped to 11, wouldn’t come close to simulating the energy of the Warriors’ last appearance in the arena on March 6, 2020.
A night after being blitzed in three sets by BYU, the Warriors dropped the first two sets of the rematch with the Cougars in a sold-out Stan Sheriff Center. They gave the crowd hope in extending the match in the third set. Hope swelled into frenzy when the Warriors forced a decisive fifth set. Frenzy erupted into jubilation when Patrick Gasman’s ace completed UH’s 19-17 victory in the fifth.
Then suddenly, a week later, the season was over; the arena silenced amid the spread of COVID-19.
More than a year has passed since the shutdown. The Warriors held their first practices of the season in SimpliFi Arena last week and were greeted by a reminder of their last home match.
UH senior Rado Parapunov noted a cutout of libero Gage Worsley among the faces set up in the stands, “and I think the picture is from that night and I think that’s the third set that we finally won against BYU.”
“That smile on his face brings those memories,” Parapunov told reporters this week. “It is sad that people can’t come. It’s good that we get to play. … I think that poster brings every emotion, every feeling of that night.”
While the memories remain, the Warriors have kept their focus on their second series with UC San Diego in a little more than a month.
UH swept the Tritons in both matches, with Wade earning his 200th career win on the second night in LaJolla, Calif. The Warriors finished with 22 blocks in the series to the Tritons’ seven, with Parapunov in on 13 and Gasman in on 12.
Senior outside hitter Kyle McCauley, an All-American in 2020, leads the Tritons with 3.52 kills per set, followed by sophomore Ryan Ka at 3.40. Junior setter Blake Crisp averages 9.27 assists per set.
“They do like to run a fast (offense) and their setter does a nice job of getting into their guys,” Wade said. “They like to run the middle and they’ve been really efficient at it and pretty productive, so it’s been a challenge against every team they play.”
UH leads the nation in hitting percentage (.381), kills per set (14.0) and blocks per set (2.935). Gasman ranks first nationally in blocks per set (1.70) and second in hitting percentage (.581). Parapunov leads the team and ranks fifth nationally with 4.39 kills per set while hitting .412.
BIG WEST MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
At SimpliFi Arena
No. 12 UC San Diego (1-5, 1-1 BWC) vs. No. 1 Hawaii (7-0, 2-0)
>> When: Today and Saturday, 7 p.m.
>> TV: Spectrum Sports
>> Radio: 1420-AM / 92.7-FM
