It was just over 50 years ago that Manny Relator, fresh from a stint with the U.S. Marines, opened a copy of the University of Hawai'i school newspaper and found his eyes drawn to an advertisement placed by faculty member Jerry Bruhn.

Like Relator, Bruhn was a former miliary enlistee who preferred his battles on the volleyball court. It was Bruhn's idea to start a volleyball club on campus. Nothing fancy. Just a chance to play a game that had been thriving in plantation communities around the state.

(Relator also wanted to introduce volleyball at local high schools, an idea that drew laughs at the time, Relator said.)

Relator and five others answered the call and became the first volleyball players to represent the University of Hawai'i.

Tonight, UH celebrates the legacy of that team — 50 years of bumps, sets, spikes and smiles — with a pair of free exhibition matches featuring Warriors (and Rainbows) past and present.

As many as 40 former players, including Relator, are expected to participate in the festivities, either as players or special guests.

The tentative list of alumni expected to participate in the matches includes Dalwyn Wong (1974-76), Pono Maa (1983-86), Barry Magaoay (1986, 1989-91), Jason Olive (1992-95), Dio Dante (1994-97), Sivan Leoni (1995-98) and Kimo Tuyay (2001-04).

Also attending will be Greg Hunt (1966-70), Gordon Piiaina (1966-69), Jeff Hottendorf (1979-80), Dejan Miladinovic (1998-99, 2001-02), Rick Tune (1995-97) and former coach Alan Rosehill (1987-92).

"It'll be a lot of Memory Lane," said head coach Mike Wilton.

The celebration kicks off at 4:30 p.m. with a showdown between alumni dating back to the 1950s. At 7 p.m., more recent alumni will square off with the 2008-'09 Warriors.

The evening will also feature a video retrospective of the program produced by KFVE.

Relator is expected to play in the first game, although he has his apprehensions.

"I'm halfway dressed to play," he said, laughing. "I don't want to tarnish the image of the program."

Back in 1958, Relator and his five teammates were the program. There wasn't even a bench to speak of until another player joined midway through the season.

"That was no problem," Relator said. "That's the name of the game — playing time!"

And, to be sure, Relator got all the PT he could handle as the team finished unbeaten in the Armed Services YMCA Class B League championship and took fifth place in the prestigious Senior Volleyball League in its first year.

Relator grew up playing the game for a plantation team in Kahuku. Later, he found that he and his Hawai'i-bred compatriots were hot commodities for military teams seeking an edge.

"There always had to be one or two of us Hawaiians on a team," he said.

As pioneering Rainbows, Relator and his teammates held their own against other local club teams, such as those sponsored by Outrigger, Central YMCA and the military.

Relator played for two years. He later coached the sport at Maryknoll, Campbell and Leilehua.

Relator said that, as a player, he never imagined that the UH volleyball program would develop the way it has. Still, he's spent nearly a lifetime enjoying the journey from the stands.

The program became an official collegiate sport in 1979 under the guidance of Dave Shoji, who coached both the men's and women's teams. In 30 varsity seasons, the program has amassed an impressive 496-265 record and has participated in post-season play 21 times.

Wilton, who is starting his 17th season in Hawai'i, shepherded the program through its greatest successes, including NCAA final appearances in 1995, 1996 and 2002. (The Warriors won the championship in '02, but the victory was later vacated when player Costas Theocharidis was ruled ineligible by the NCAA.)

"It's hard to know what will happen when you take a job," Wilton said. "As coaches, we're usually vagabonds, but we've had a really good run here."

Wilton hopes the upcoming season brings more of the same.

The Warriors return a well-tested corps of veteran talent, including setter Sean Carney, outside hitters Jim Clar and Steven Grgas, middle blocker Matthew Rawson and libero Ric Cervantes.

Last week, the team competed in the Thunderball Tournament in Vancouver, British Columbia against a stacked field that included Southern California, Ohio State and defending NCAA champion Penn State.

Despite exiting the two-day tournament with a 1-3 record and a fourth-place finish, the team displayed promise, Wilton said.

"We can pass," Wilton said. "That's a nice change of pace for us. If you can pass, you can run an offense. Even though we went 1-3, we played some really nice volleyball up there."