This is the aloha weekend for four University of Hawai'i volleyball seniors.

And although opposite attacker Lauri Hakala is fluent in four languages, he is not ready to say goodbye in any.

"I've had a good time here," said Hakala, whose team hosts Stanford tonight and tomorrow in the final regular-season matches.

Hakala, setter Brian Beckwith, left-side hitter Eric Kalima and middle blocker Dio Dante are hopeful of receiving a postseason berth as a parting gift to their UH volleyball careers. The Warriors need to win one of the matches to advance to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoffs.

"That would be a nice way to go out," Beckwith said.

Each of the seniors has had a unique entry.

Hakala served in the Finnish Army in the Arctic Circle.

Kalima, a Kamehameha Schools graduate, was born in Boston.

Beckwith, who was raised in Pacific Palisades, Calif., used to be a competitive long-board surfer.

Dante, who was born in Oregon and attended high school on Maui, is the second-most famous person in his family. His sister, Tatiana Dante, was a contestant on America's Next Top Model.

Dante and Kalima are fifth-year Warriors.

"They had to pay a lot of dues on Court 3," UH coach Mike Wilton said, referring to the practice area for players who are not on the active roster.

During their first year, "one could have wondered if they would be guys who would play very much," Wilton said. "But they're dogged competitors, and they worked their way onto the court. All of them are competitors, actually."

Dante is the nation's leading blocker. Kalima is a co-captain. Hakala and Beckwith were named to the All-America first team last year.

"They're a nice group," Wilton said.

Here's a closer look:

DIO DANTE

MIDDLE BLOCKER

MAUI

Lori Dante, on her son: "He's my only son. He has two sisters. He's the man in the family. He treats us like queens and princesses.

"Here's a fun story about him. When he was in diapers, just a toddler, he had such a great sense of machines. He learned how to turn the answering machine on and how to record his own voice and play it back. One day I heard him giggling in the other room. It sounded kind of strange. I walked in and saw this little diapered butt in the air, and he's hanging over the answering machine listening to himself on the answering machine giggling. He's always been conscientious. Before he would leave the room he would reach up on his tippy toes and turn the light off. He made sure he shut the door.

"With a last name like Dante, we definitely wanted to have an Italian name for him. I wasn't so crazy about Romeo or Caesar. I really loved Dionisio. He didn't like it very well when he was small, but he seemed to grow into it. Now it suits him.

"I'm really impressed with how he's been able to stay with volleyball all the way through. I've never ceased being impressed. It's just stunning to see him play. He's having such a great time. I really like that about him. He's got such a great camaraderie, which he had at Maui High, in both basketball and volleyball. He's such a great teammate.

"Dio had a real difficult time in the beginning. He was really focused. He kept showing up and giving it his best to have a good time. Overall, I said to him, 'It's not worth it unless you're having fun.' Not very many people get to be at the level he is in volleyball. He's very blessed."

ERIC KALIMA

LEFT-SIDE HITTER

HONOLULU

Connie Kalima, on her son: "He's very focused and determined, and has been since he was very young. He's real goal-oriented. He's pretty tenacious. When he sets his mind to something, he goes for it.

"When he was in the fifth grade, he went to an exploration program at Kamehameha Schools. He told me he wanted to go to Kamehameha Schools, and he put his mind to that. He's pretty driven about his own passions. We've been season volleyball ticket holders for, I want to say, 10 years. He used to sit in the stands and say, 'I'm going to play on that court,' and he did. It was always his dream to play for UH. He did everything he could to get there. We're extremely proud of all of the effort he put in.

"He's pretty introverted, but he's passionate when he's on that volleyball court, which most people have seen. He's very generous and extremely humble. He's devoted his time to building his strength and making sure he will have a chance to play. He's looking forward to finishing school. We're proud of that as well. He hopes to do something in law enforcement, but he's going to take a break. He won't have to worry about lifting weights for a while."

BRIAN BECKWITH

SETTER

PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIF.

Patty Beckwith, on her son: "I can't believe it's been four years. Gosh, it goes by so quickly. It worked out well. He was pretty well recruited, and Hawai'i was among his top choices. I think he was looking for something where the environment was going to be a good fit, as well. He just loves it out there. He met a lot of nice people, and made a lot of friends. He gets to go in the water, and you can't beat that over there. It's been a win-win-win for him.

"He's always loved the water. He probably started surfing when he was 6 years old. He was competing in long-board contests over here. He likes to compete. He's had a good time with it. He's been participating in U.S. Volleyball, too. He enjoys the competition. It doesn't get to him as far as pressure. In fact, if anything, it accelerates his performance. The more competitive the situation, it seems his performance elevates to go with it. He doesn't shy away from it at all. It's a good thing for him.

"He's been blessed. He's been lucky in the four years not to have any big injuries. He's always been able to compete and play. He hasn't had anything that prevented him from playing. He's been lucky in that regard. He's had his share of little injuries but nothing that put a stop to him."

LAURI HAKALA

OPPOSITE ATTACKER

KUUSAMO, FINLAND

Pacific outside hitter Pekka Seppanen, on his best friend: "I met Lauri 11 years ago, when I was 13. We lived like, maybe, 50 miles away from each other. We played on the same regional team. One day Lauri called me and said: 'Do you want to play beach volleyball with me?' We became beach volleyball partners. That's how I got to know him better. We started to hang out.

"There are so many stories about this guy. One year he was living in the Arctic Circle, in freezing temperatures, and this man had a dream to play in Hawai'i. A lot of people were laughing at him. He didn't give up. He worked his butt off to get to Hawai'i. He made it to Hawai'i, and he had a lot of success there. I really respect and appreciate that about him.

"He takes life pretty seriously, but when you get to know him better, you'll find he's a funny guy. We were playing beach volleyball together one summer. We were at the airport in Brussels. We had a layover there. Then suddenly I looked at my watch and I said, I think we're late for our flight. We ran like 500 yards through the airport as fast as we could. We got to the gate, and nobody's there. We were like, 'We missed our flight.' We sat down. We didn't know what to do. We were sitting for five minutes, not even talking. Then I looked at the clock near the gate. It said the flight leaves in one hour. We forgot to adjust our watches for the time difference. You should have seen Lauri's face."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.