Iolani alum Brent Asuka went from being a walk-on who hoped to make a travel squad to someone who made an impact for the UC Irvine volleyball team.

Asuka, a 5-foot-11 freshman libero from 'Aiea, earned Newcomer of the Year and first-team honors on the all-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation's volleyball team yesterday.

"I'm pretty happy," Asuka said. "The first team, I was pretty surprised ... with (Hawai'i's Alfee) Reft being a senior and Reft being first team last year. And, he had a good year."

Asuka led the MPSF in digs per game (3.23) and ranked fourth nationally (3.08) for No. 1-ranked UC Irvine, which is hosting the MPSF semifinals and finals this week.

Asuka's goals were modest when he arrived at Irvine.

"My first goal was to work hard and see if I could get on the travel squad, then work hard to get into the starting lineup," he said.

When the team took a preseason trip to Penn State, Asuka was left behind and told the upperclassmen would be given the first shot at starting.

"I knew it was still preseason and anything could happen," he said.

By early season, Asuka had assumed control. He has totaled double-digit digs in 19 matches, and also has more 15-dig matches than anyone in the country.

As a defensive specialist at Iolani, Asuka found the on-court transition to be easy, but the total-college experience less than easy.

His schedule is filled with lifting weights in the morning, followed by classes, then practice from 4 to 6:30 p.m. to studying until about midnight.

"At first it was pretty hard getting used to school, volleyball and time management, but my teammates helped me out, my coaches helped me out," he said.

Asuka did not make any All-State volleyball listings and was an Interscholastic League of Honolulu honorable mention.

"My senior year I was hurt half the season, so I didn't expect much," he said.

Still, he said being overlooked "made me want to work harder. I just wanted to prove people wrong by working hard and proving I could be successful."

Now, he hopes his success will lead to something else.

"Hopefully, I can get a scholarship next year," he said.