Former Hawaii volleyball player Joshua Walker earned the nickname “Sky” because of his gravity-defying vertical jump. Lately, it seems, it could refer to the time he spends traveling.

Walker, who was raised in Virginia Beach and attended UH for five years, played this past year for a pro team in Abu Dhabi. He will be part of a UH-led team that will compete in the 24th Asian Pacific Cup in Fukuoka, Japan, next week.

“I’m seeing the world,” Walker said.

The team is practicing this week in UH’s Gym I. Japan’s national university team, China’s junior national team and Thailand’s national team will compete in the tournament.

UH head coach Charlie Wade and assistant Vernon Podlewski will guide the Hawaii team. There is a mix of former Warriors (outside hitter Tony Ching, setter Brian Beckwith and middle blocker Mauli‘a LaBarre) and current ones (outside hitter Scott Hartley and middle Nick West). Two recent signees, middle Aniefre Etim-Thomas and setter Max Wechsung, also are on the roster.

Etim-Thomas had planned to play beach volleyball this summer before receiving the invitation.

“It will be good to play against international players that I know will help me expand my game,” said Etim-Thomas, who, like Walker, can touch 11 feet 7 off a standing jump.

Wechsung said he welcomes learning from Beckwith. Both are listed at 6-6.

“I can get to know a couple of the guys who will be on the team next year,” Wechsung said. “It’ll be good to get the chemistry going.”

For others, it will be a chance to return to high-level competition. Beckwith is a teacher and head coach at Saint Louis School. LaBarre is a Honolulu police officer who served as a volunteer UH coach this past season. Ching was the most valuable player in a Puerto Rican league that folded last year.

Walker said he is open to playing “anywhere where I can be challenged to get better.”

He said it was a learning experience to play in Abu Dhabi, where gas is $2 a gallon and most activities close between noon and 3 p.m. because of the triple-digit temperatures.

“It’s a desert there, but it’s an oasis at the same time,” he said. As the team’s youngest player and only American, he faced challenges every match.

“I learned a lot,” Walker said.