Feature: Aloha! Mastodons Welcome Hawaii to Fort Wayne
By: Tom Davis
There is a buzz floating throughout the Gates Sports Center emanating from the looming Purdue Fort Wayne volleyball match this week.
National power Hawaii (3-1) is coming to town to battle the Mastodons (4-1) on Thursday (7 p.m., ESPN+) and Friday (7 p.m., ESPN+), and veteran Purdue Fort Wayne coach Ryan "Rock" Perrotte said his players are jacked about the opportunity.
"There is a different level of excitement," Perrotte said of playing the defending NCAA Division I national runner-up. "There is a different level of intensity, of focus."
One thing there isn't, however, is a level of intimidation on the part of Purdue Fort Wayne.
The Mastodons are used to this national spotlight, if for no other reason than the conference (Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) in which they compete.
"Our conference," Perrotte said, "I think is the toughest conference in America."
Perrotte, who has been a Mastodon since starting his playing career with the program in 1995, has a valid point.
The MIVA currently has four nationally ranked members (Ohio State, Lewis, Loyola Chicago, and Ball State), with the Buckeyes being the top-ranked team in the country.
"Our conference has four ranked teams, usually, annually," Perrotte explained, "with Ball State, Loyola, Lewis, and Ohio State, and once in a while, we are thrown in there too."
The matchup with Hawaii is thrilling for the Mastodon players, as well as the fans and it came about due to a couple of reasons.
"The first reason is that Hawaii head coach, Charlie Wade, is from Warsaw," Perotte explained. "So, it is a homecoming for him to get back here."
The No. 4-ranked Rainbow Warriors will venture to Muncie on Sunday to wrap up three games in four days.
"The second reason," Perrotte continued, "is that (Hawaii) was gracious enough to invite us to play in the Outrigger Tournament (in 2023), and in turn, Hawaii decided to then make a trip back to the Midwest (in 2024)."
That Outrigger Tournament goes a long way in explaining why facing the Rainbow Warriors, though incredibly challenging, won't scare those within the Mastodon program.
Perrotte took his team to Hawaii for that event last season, where the other three teams included No. 1 Hawaii, No. 2 UCLA, and No. 3 Penn State.
Hawaii and UCLA ended up playing for the NCAA Championship, where the Bruins knocked off the two-time defending national champions, who had also finished runner-up in 2020.
"For me, as a coach," Perrotte said, "it's another match. But, for the players, it is not. It is big-time exposure at a different level, a different caliber of volleyball with Hawaii coming in here."
And it won't be an anomaly this spring.
This week's games will be two of 10 times that Perrotte's guys will battle nationally ranked opponents over the next three months – and that is just in the regular season.
The Mastodons will face No. 9 Penn State (Feb. 3 at the Gates Sports Center), No. 13 Loyola Chicago (Feb. 6 at Gates, Feb. 29 in Chicago), No. 15 Ball State (Feb. 15 in Muncie, March 23 at Gates), No. 1 Ohio State (Feb. 20 in Columbus, March 16 at Gates), and No. 12 Lewis (March 2 in Romoeville, April 4 at Gates).
In the case of the MIVA programs, Purdue Fort Wayne will also travel to those teams for tough tests.
"We do need to play better volleyball teams," Perrotte said. "We need to play top-notch volleyball teams. It is the only way that we are going to get better, and by the way, prepares us for our conference season, because our conference season is going to be that way."
