Stan Sheriff Center: Memories of the Yuval Katz Hawaii men’s volleyball era

Some teams stand out more than others when it comes to memories and the Yuval Katz-led Warriors of 1995-96 are among the most memorable. It was the perfect storm of the brand-new arena meeting charismatic players who kept winning … a lot.

Some of the myths surrounding the Warriors seem too good to be true but some of them are. Aaron Wilton did end up in a laundry cart, under towels, and was pushed past fans who waited out in the parking lot by the security gate.

The 1996 team sold out the Special Events Arena five times, averaging 7,630 fans a match, a number that some programs didn’t draw — and still don’t — for an entire season. That Warrior squad won a then school-record 27 matches and went 19-0 in conference.

So many of the fans were female and young, the adoring but often shrill high-pitched screams calling to mind what The Beatles experienced in the 1960s. It was concert-level loud … every night … and actress Tia Carrere was among the faithful.

The peak came in a two-match split with UCLA (the second was designated a nonconference match) on the first two nights of March, 1996. That is No. 4 in our Stan Sheriff Center 25th-anniversary countdown of most memorable events.

Katz, the AVCA newcomer for 1995 and AVCA co-national player of 1996, had 100 aces in his two seasons; the program’s co-leaders Costas Theocharidis and Pedro Azenha had 121, Theocharidis in four seasons, Azenha in three.

Who knows how many Katz would have had if he had remained for his last two years instead of going pro or if he was playing under the current format of with a “let” serve that is allowed to touch the net. When Katz played, there was no let serve but players were allowed to have a double toss. Katz was a master of that where, most of the time, he’d toss the ball and then let it drop, opting to complete the serve on the second toss. Sometimes he’d hit it on the first toss, keeping opponents guessing. It was effective either way.

In the national final at Pauley Pavilion, it was 14-14 and 15-15 in Set 4. The Bruins led 16-15, forcing Set 5 on a controversial call where UCLA setter Stein Metzger could (should?) have been called for being an illegal back-row attacker.

Hawaii argued in vain and it seemed that the Warriors couldn’t let it go, with the deciding Set 5 switching from traditional sideout scoring to rally scoring. UCLA went on to win 15-13, 12-15, 9-15, 17-15, 15-12, defeating Hawaii for the second time that season. Katz was named the Most Outstanding Player, the first time in 27 NCAA men’s volleyball tournaments that the MOP did not come from the title team.

The Warriors returned to a welcome befitting a champion, with their plane taxi-ing through a water arch created by firetrucks. Hundreds gathered in the lobby and the players were the last to disembark.

I had gotten off earlier and stood along the wall, watching fans celebrate a pretty remarkable team.