Hershko’s game worth howling about

Tamir Hershko is a physical force that can overwhelm opponents with his athletic skill, strength and raw emotional competitiveness.

But it isn’t until the UC Irvine men’s volleyball standout has actually put away the point that he is perhaps most frightening.

Hershko, a 6-foot-6 opposite who leads the Anteaters in kills, typically accentuates his concussive spikes by clinching both fists, raising them – elbows bent and knuckles pointing upward as if doing curls with two buckets of water – and unleashing a celebratory roar that makes the veins in his neck bulge.

In this moment of passion, his eyes appear to jut forth, like eggs popping to the surface of boiling water, as his teammates gather around to herald his heroics, before moving onto the next point.

“He’s a guy you want to go to battle with,” said UCI senior setter Michael Saeta. “Whether it’s physically, because look at him, or mentally, or skillfully, there are so many different aspects and attributes that he brings to the table that you want on your side, you need on your side.”

UCI Coach David Kniffin laughed when asked about Hershko’s emotional displays.

“Love and passion manifest in different ways for everyone and I think what you are seeing with Tamir is just his genuine passion for playing and competing,” Kniffin said. “He just loves big moments.

“It’s a little bit like the haka that the All-Blacks [New Zealand rugby team] does before they play,” Kniffin said of Hershko’s emotional post-point fury. “We almost need him to just stand at the net and celebrate [before matches to intimidate opponents.]”

During matches, the former Israeli junior national team member does plenty to challenge opponents.

He has 296 kills for the No. 5-ranked Anteaters (19-6), who are the No. 4 seed, entering Saturday’s Mountain Pacific Sports Federation quarterfinal against No. 6-ranked and No. 5-seeded UCLA (17-9) at 7 p.m. at the Bren Events Center.

The first-team All-MPSF performer is also hitting .318 with 20 aces, 95 digs and 45 total blocks.

Hershko was first-team All-American and All-MPSF in 2015, when he amassed 427 kills (second on the team) and hit .348 to help UCI go 28-5, win the MPSF regular-season and tournament titles, and reach the NCAA semifinals.

“It was a breakout year,” Kniffin said of Hershko’s sophomore campaign.

But 2016 brought mostly frustration, as Hershko missed 18 matches with a leg injury and collected 152 kills in 41 sets, in which he hit .299.

Kniffin said Hershko related some of that frustration during a recent luncheon to celebrate the seniors.

“Tamir said it didn’t make sense to him that he could still contribute to the team when he was injured,” Kniffin said. “He said he felt scared, lonely and that he wasn’t worth anything. He took that feeling into the summer and said he needed to find a way to be a better teammate.”

That Hershko has UCI teammates at all is a bit of international serendipity.

“I first saw him when he was 16 years old playing for the Israeli junior national team, while I was coaching a club team at a competition in Slovakia,” Kniffin said. “I spoke with his father, who was coaching Israel, but never interacted with [Tamir].

A few years later, when [Hershko] was performing his mandatory military service, I got an email form him. I told him I don’t like to recruit kids I don’t know, so we needed to find a way to communicate. We ended up on Skype and one of the things that struck me, was he said he wanted to be part of a team that fought like a family.”

Hershko, who will graduate with a degree in electrical engineering, said his volleyball family helped him assimilate into American life and culture, despite a severe language barrier when he arrived as a freshman.

Now 23, Hershko said he has valued his time in Irvine, both on the court and off.

“It has been a great experience,” Hershko said. “Back in Israel, people look up to you if you have a degree from America.”

Hershko said he will pursue a professional indoor career in Europe, and maybe give pro beach volleyball a try. But he is unclear where he’ll chose to call home.

“When I was younger, I thought I wanted to live in Israel, but now, I don’t really know,” he said. “Orange County is just unreal, amazing.”

Wherever he resides, the passion he displays on the court is sure to live within Hershko, as will his legacy as another in the long line of Anteater All-Americans.

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Twitter: @BarryFaulkner5