It is a testament to offseason workouts that two players with only a handful of career starts have been selected as co-captains of the Hawai'i men's volleyball team.

Opposite attacker Jake Schkud, a fifth-year senior, and setter Sean Carney, a fourth-year junior, were selected in a vote by teammates. "So far," head coach Mike Wilton said, "Jake and Sean are doing a wonderful job."

Schkud will start at opposite — his fourth position in four years at UH — when the Warriors host Pepperdine in exhibition matches Monday and Tuesday.

"I'm honored that my teammates consider me to be a leader," Schkud said. "I have a lot of knowledge even though I don't have a lot of playing experience with UH."

Schkud was a member of the Junior national team that competed in international events.

Too short for middle blocker and not consistent enough as a left-side passer, Schkud succeeds Lauri Hakala at the position that attacks mostly from the right side. An opposite's job, according to Wilton, is to "hit, hit some more, block some balls, serve and play some back-right defense." Wilton said Schkud has been hitting hard during fall training.

"I feel comfortable in that spot," Schkud said. "Hopefully, not too comfortable."

Wilton said: "I think one good thing is we settled him into a position. He's become a steady player."

Carney and Nejc Zemljak have split time at setter. But Carney recently suffered a fracture in his right (hitting) hand, and will not play in the Pepperdine exhibitions. Carney should be healthy for the Jan. 3 start of the regular season.

The Warriors also will be without middle blocker Keali'i Frank, who has a torn abdominal muscle. That leaves Matt Rawson as the only true available middle. Jarrod Lofy is redshirting. Dusan Matic, a 6-foot-7 middle blocker from Serbia, joins the Warriors in January.

Wilton said 6-foot-4 outside hitter Brennon Dyer will play middle against Pepperdine, which will bring seven players who are 6-7 or taller.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.