For University of Hawai'i volleyball freshman Ric Cervantes, the easier adjustment was going from starting libero to bench warmer to starter.

That paled to the Santa Barbara, Calif., native's first semester at UH last fall.

"The transition was pretty rough," Cervantes said. "My first semester was pretty awful. I had to battle through a lot of things — academics, a little home sickness. My teammates and coaches gathered around me. They were pretty supportive."

Jake Schkud, a junior outside hitter, said: "When you come out of high school, you expect so much to happen. A lot of times there are dreams and aspirations that don't work out."

Cervantes learned that after winning the starting job at libero — then losing it a week later. Outside hitter Eric Kalima took over the position.

The demotion meant that Cervantes often would be left off the active roster.

"At first, I was kind of down," he said. "But I told myself, 'There's no point in getting down. You might as well keep working hard and getting better.' "

Cervantes, a skilled defensive player, worked to improve his passing.

"I was kind of rough around the edges," he admitted. "I didn't have the right technique. Now I'm kind of getting it down."

In last week's match against top-ranked Pepperdine, Cervantes was summoned to start Game 3. He played well enough that in the rematch, Cervantes started at libero and Kalima moved to outside hitter.

"Libero is an important position, and he did a nice job," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "He had the consistency factor."

That was apparent when Wilton showed Cervantes the highlight video from the Pepperdine matches.

Wilton said Cervantes will start in Friday's match against No. 8 Cal State Northridge.

"I'm happy for the opportunity to play," Cervantes said. "I'm going to keep working hard in practices and games."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.