When the schedule dictates opening the regular season on the road and the budget calls for arriving at the team hotel on the day of the match, the University of Hawai'i volleyball only can adhere to this year's theme: No whining.

"It's our core value," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "Whining never does any good. When my grandchildren whine, I always ask, 'Do you want some cheese with that?' They don't understand (the pun), but I like to say it."

The Warriors, who were scheduled to arrive at their hotel at 12:30 this morning, have had eight practices and two mildly competitive exhibitions to prepare for Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matches against UC Santa Barbara tonight and tomorrow night.

The Gauchos try to intimidate visiting teams with one of the nation's best attackers (All-America opposite hitter Evan Patak) and a boisterous student section.

Robertson Gym has a seating capacity of 500.

"It's pretty similar to McKinley's gym," UH setter Brian Beckwith said. "It's a small gym, but they're pretty notorious for their hecklers. You have people maybe 3, 4 feet away from you. It's easy for them to hear you, and it's easy for you to hear them. It just asks for our players to have that mental focus."

UH's Jake Schkud, who transferred from UCSB two years ago, cautioned Warrior teammates about the "smaller atmosphere. Their students are crowding around, and they're vocal. You can't let them get to you."

Of greater concern is Patak, whose last name rhymes with "attic" and whose game is all "attack." At 6 feet 8 and 260 pounds, Patak can slam a volleyball at 65 mph. What's more, he hits a "heavy ball" — a shot without the usual top spin.

"He's a hard hitter, for sure," UH middle blocker Dio Dante said. "It's going to be a challenge to play him. But that's why we play volleyball. We love challenges."

No matter who starts at setter — 6-foot-5 senior Dane Jensen or 6-3 freshman Max Klineman —the Gauchos' plan is this: feed the big guy.

"Patak is the guy we have to go to," UCSB coach Ken Preston said. "Hopefully, the setter can get other guys involved, but he's obviously the guy who's going t to get a lot of sets."

Patak has his handprints on 127 of the Gauchos' 321 kill attempts (39.6 percent). He averages 5.18 kills per game.

"We're going to pay a lot of respect to him, but try not to forget about the rest of their players," Beckwith said. "I'm sure they'll try to distribute the ball early in the match. But when the going gets tough, I'm sure they're going to go to him."

The Warriors, meanwhile, are difficult to predict. Opposite hitter John Matt Bender's badly sprained left ankle will remain in a cast for another two weeks, after which he will undergo at least two weeks of rehabilitation.

Wilton said Lauri Hakala, who hammered a match-high 16 kills in an exhibition victory over Douglas College last week, and Schkud are competing to succeed Bender.

Floor captain Matt Carere, converted libero Eric Kalima and senior José José Delgado are battling for the two starting jobs on the left side.

"Competition is good," said Wilton, who won't announce the starters until pre-match warmups. "It makes for a marvelous training environment."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.