{"id":202413,"date":"2024-08-22T15:53:48","date_gmt":"2024-08-23T01:53:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=202413"},"modified":"2024-08-22T16:12:10","modified_gmt":"2024-08-23T02:12:10","slug":"alumni-volleyball-stars-build-excitement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/08\/22\/alumni-volleyball-stars-build-excitement\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumni UH<\/abbr> men\u2019s volleyball stars build excitement, look ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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From left, Kupono Fey, Charlie Wade, Kanoa Leahey, Costas Theocharidis, \u2018Eleu Choy, Alex Parks, Kurt Nusterer (Photo credit: Kira Diehm)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa men\u2019s volleyball alumni community celebrated its past and present with a special talk story session between UH<\/abbr> sports announcer Kanoa Leahey and former standout player Costas Theocharidis (BA<\/abbr> \u201903, UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa), plus a Q&A with Head Coach Charlie Wade, Assistant Coach Kupono Fey (BA<\/abbr> \u201917, UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa) and current Rainbow Warrior players.<\/p>\n

Warrior for Life<\/h2>\n

“I find myself looking back reflecting on my volleyball journey,” said Theocharidis, whose nickname was ‘Greece Lightning.’ “I see now that sports actually gives you the platform to continuously pursue excellence in everything you do in life.”<\/p>\n

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Kanoa Leahey, left, and Costas Theocharidis, right, talk story session. (Photo credit: Kira Diehm)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Theocharidis is one of the most decorated UH<\/abbr> volleyball players of all time, becoming the first four-time AVCA<\/abbr> All-American in men\u2019s volleyball history.<\/p>\n

He recently released a memoir<\/a>, Costas: Warrior for Life<\/em>, and it relives his journey as a Rainbow Warrior.<\/p>\n

“You can watch all the games but unless you are there to experience it yourself, it doesn\u2019t do it justice,” said Theocharidis. “I bring my wife and daughters to Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> so that they can experience what I got to experience. It\u2019s about the people and the culture. When we talk about Aloha and ʻOhana<\/span>, it\u2019s not words, but actions. I had to give back to the fans and all they have done for me.”<\/p>\n

Goals, expectations, community<\/h2>\n

Later, Wade and Fey shared their goals for the 2025 season.<\/p>\n

“Last year, we walked away feeling like it wasn\u2019t a very good year because we weren\u2019t playing for a national championship, like we have the past five years,” said Wade. “We are not lowering those expectations at all. We are still in an ascendant phase, the level of talent that we are bringing in makes it a really exciting time for us.”<\/p>\n

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Kupono Fey, left, and Kimo Kai, right, at the UH<\/abbr> MVB<\/abbr> Past and Present event. (Photo credit: Kira Diehm)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fey has seen the UH<\/abbr> men\u2019s volleyball program from many perspectives\u2014as a Rainbow Warrior and the captain of the 2017 team that advanced to the NCAA<\/abbr> semifinals. Now, in his second season as assistant coach, Fey reflected on what this community means to him.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s a real honor to coach alongside Charlie and Milan, after playing for them,” said Fey. “The best part about it is seeing all the people who have been here since day one, even when we weren\u2019t winning championships. I really appreciate them sticking with us, because we\u2019ve always wanted to build something special and I\u2019m really excited about where we are going.”<\/p>\n

The UH<\/abbr> Foundation\u2019s Office of Alumni Relations<\/a> organized the event. Listen to the entire Q&A, at ESPN<\/abbr> Honolulu.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Volleyball alumni Costas Theocharidis and Kupono Fey shared their perspectives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1362],"tags":[90,58,714,271,319,9,550,80],"class_list":["post-202413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athletics","tag-alumni","tag-athletics","tag-student-athlete","tag-uh-alumni-association","tag-uh-foundation","tag-uh-manoa","tag-manoa-athletics","tag-volleyball","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t