Thursday, May 3, 2001

Hawaii’s
Theocharidis is
nation’s top player

The sophomore becomes the first
UH volleyball player to win the
honor since Yuval Katz in 1996

By Grace Wen
Star-Bulletin

In only his sophomore season, University of Hawaii men's volleyball player Costas Theocharidis was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association Player of the Year.

Theocharidis, a 6-foot-3 outside hitter, received the award at the AVCA All-America awards banquet yesterday in Long Beach, Calif., the site of this year's final four.

A first-team All-American and last year's Newcomer of the Year, Theocharidis is only the second from UH to receive the recognition. Yuval Katz received the honor in 1996.

During the 2001 campaign, Theocharidis hammered 454 kills and reached the 1,000 kill milestone in just his second season.

The sophomore ranked fifth in the nation in hitting at 5.04 kills per game and posted a .340 clip for the year. He led the Warriors to their first appearance in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship since 1995.

"He was the most dominant player we'd seen all year," UH assistant coach Tino Reyes said. "He's got all kinds of skill. He's a good blocker, a good defensive player. His hitting has carried us. He has some innate sense of where the defense is."

Middle blocker Dejan Miladinovic received second-team All-American honors and led the nation in blocking (1.97 per game) after redshirting the 2000 season to recover from shoulder surgery.

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