Team USA includes 3 locals

Though tonight marks the beginning of a three-night homecoming engagement for former UC Irvine All-Americans Jayson Jablonsky and David Smith, the playing time granted the U.S. men’s volleyball national team newcomers will have more to do with pushing buttons than tugging heart strings.

“There is no plan to make it a homecoming event for those guys,” Team USA Coach Alan Knipe said of the four-team qualifying tournament for the 2010 World Championships that features two matches each of the next three evenings at the Bren Events Center. “If they are out there playing, it will be because they are playing well and they deserve it. In no way will their playing time have to do with the fact that they happened to play at UCI.”

Knipe has called upon both Jablonsky and Smith with increasing frequency in the initial stages of the U.S. team’s grind toward defending the gold medal the Americans won in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Knipe, a former Long Beach State head man in his first year guiding the national team, has also relied upon veteran setter Kevin Hansen, a former volleyball and basketball standout at Corona del Mar High who was a backup to now-retired Lloy Ball in Beijing.

The three local products will enjoy a rare chance to play in front of family and friends this weekend.

Team USA opens tonight against Guatemala at 7:30 p.m., following a matchup between the Dominican Republic and Panama at 5.

Sunday, the Americans face Panama at 7:30, with Guatemala and the Dominican Republic playing at 5.

Monday, Knipe’s charges will take on the Dominican Republic at 7:30, after Guatemala and Panama battle at 5.

“For us, it’s the beginning of a new quad,” said Knipe, who is also dealing with the absence of 2008 stalwarts Reid Priddy, Ryan Millar and Riley Salmon, all of whom are taking some time off. “With a new coaching staff and some new guys on the team, it’s another opportunity for us to improve. This is important for us, because we take a lot of pride in the way we play every point, every set, every match.”

Hansen and Jablonsky also took some time off this summer to get married. But both, as well as Smith, helped the Americans finish fifth in the recently completed World League.

Hansen, 27, just back from his honeymoon, Knipe said, will not start tonight. But while sharing time with Donald Suxho, he has continued to establish himself as a valued leader on the floor.

“He has gained a lot of experience in a short amount of time [on the national team],” Knipe said of Hansen, a 6-foot-5 former All-American at Stanford. “His demeanor really helps us on the court, he understands the game and he runs the offense well.

“And, probably, there is not enough said about what a good competitor he is. He really does a good job of keeping our team motivated. He knows how to push buttons real well and keep our guys loose.”

Hansen, diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes at age 10, gives himself insulin shots four times daily.

Knipe said the 6-5 Jablonsky, the 2006 NCAA Player of the Year as a junior and a two-time All-American who ranks No. 2 in UCI annals in kills (1,528) and No. 1 in service aces (128), will be part of a four-man rotation at outside hitter this weekend.

“Jayson does a lot of things very well,” said Knipe, who coached against Jablonsky in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and coached the former Anteater at the World University Games in 2007. “He hits the bic [back row middle] set really well, is a real nice left-side blocker, has a good serve and passes well. There are not a lot of weaknesses in his game and he will have lots of opportunities to play for us.

“He had a really important match for us the first night of World League in Italy, when he came off the bench and played really well. He was playing more down the stretch [of World League play], before he took some time off to get married.”

Jablonsky, 24, played professionally last season in Italy and has also made pro stops in Puerto Rico and Greece. He is currently awaiting a contact for the upcoming professional season.

Smith, a 6-7 middle blocker who tops the UCI career records with 510 total blocks and 461 block assists and led the nation in hitting percentage (.560) as a senior, has enhanced his future on the national team with his opportunistic play, Knipe said.

“He is a guy who was a little bit on the outside looking in when things started,” Knipe said. “But he has worked really hard and made the most of his opportunities in practice, and in matches. He’s definitely undersized in the middle, but he is incredibly quick, both off the floor and laterally, and he’s one of the best blockers on the team.”

Knipe said Smith’s impaired hearing (he has a significant deficit in each ear and wears hearing aids) may actually help his acuity for reading opposing attackers.

“He is so focused on picking up cues from the passer, setter and hitter, because he can’t hear the things the [opponents] are yelling,” Knipe said.

Smith, 24, played professionally in Germany and is hoping his recent play with the national team will help him earn a better deal for the upcoming pro season.

“I keep getting into a more exclusive group, which, I think has put me a few steps ahead of last year,” Smith said.