Saturday, February 2, 2002
[ UH WARRIOR VOLLEYBALL ]
STOCKTON, Calif. >> It's not often that over-preparation hurts a team. Warriors win in 4
From staff and wire reports
But that was the case for the Hawaii volleyball team yesterday.
A surprising Pacific team briefly caught fourth-ranked Hawaii off guard before the Warriors recovered and defeated the Tigers 30-19, 30-25, 25-30, 30-27.
"Somehow we got through this," Hawaii coach Mike Wilton said. "I don't know if we thought it was going to be a night off, we were just horrible. In Game 3, we were just out to lunch. We shot ourselves in the foot a bunch of times."
Hawaii (6-2, 3-0 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) didn't expect the Tigers' top player, middle blocker Sean Rodgers, to be in street clothes, nor were they prepared for outside hitter Aaron Wachtfogel.
Listed at 6-foot-2 (but in reality closer to 6 feet), the senior blasted three aces and pounded a season-high 27 kills. Costas Theocharidis led Hawaii with 17 kills but struggled mightily early in the match.
Playing against a lineup that bore no resemblance to what Hawaii had studied, the Warriors still took a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
But Pacific (2-6, 1-5) opened Game 3 with another overhauled lineup and a 5-1 lead. Freshman Brian Zodrow of Honolulu sparked the Tigers and opposite Tim Gerlach finally got used to playing middle blocker.
Zodrow hit .300 with four kills and four blocks. The Tigers collected seven blocks and hit .341 in Game 3 to extend the match.
"It was a match laced with much ugliness," Wilton said. "It was a good thing we had Delano (Thomas) and Daniel Rasay saved our bacon. He came in and gave us some good swings."
Rasay stabilized the Warriors offense after starter Kimo Tuyay struggled.
The 6-foot-7 Thomas came off the bench to give Hawaii a lift in Games 3 and 4. The Sacramento, Calif., native, perhaps finding inspiration from having 20 members of his family in the crowd, made good use of his playing time. Thomas pounded eight kills in 16 swings and blocked three balls.
"We started off real strong and let off in Game 3," Thomas said. "We played well enough to win in Game 4. I just do my best. If one of our players is having a hard time, I just try to come in and help out."
Hawaii plays Pacific again today at 5 p.m. Hawaii time.
"The whole team struggled, but we did what we had to," Wilton said. "Our senior team leadership has to do a better job. I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure we're ready to go (for tomorrow). This one's for the road back."
Note: With five former Hawaii residents on its roster, Pacific has more players from the isles than Hawaii. Jon-Paul Keb, Bryson Metz, and Vaughn Lorenzo all competed at Kamehameha last year. Zodrow played for St. Louis last season, while Adam Catania is a transfer from Leeward Community College.
HAWAII DEF. PACIFIC
30-19, 30-25, 25-30, 30-27Tigers (2-6, 1-5 MPSF)
g k e att pct. bs ba d Jenson 2 1 1 2 .000 1 0 0 Wachtfogel 4 27 13 55 .255 0 2 7 Berntsen 4 11 9 37 .054 0 1 5 Hoefer 4 6 6 25 .000 0 1 4 Gerlach 4 9 6 18 .167 3 4 3 Tamas 4 0 1 1 -1.000 0 0 10 Gawlik 4 0 0 0 .000 0 0 10 Brizuela 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Zodrow 2 4 1 10 .300 2 2 6 Yeoman 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Totals 4 50 27 148 .142 6 10 45 Warriors (6-2, 3-0 MPSF)
g k e att pct. bs ba d Miladinovic 4 6 4 21 .095 0 6 1 Tuyay 4 1 1 4 .000 0 2 5 Zimet 4 11 4 23 .304 0 0 4 Theocharidis 4 17 9 48 .167 0 3 12 Delgado 4 7 4 14 .214 0 7 11 Nordberg 2 0 2 2 -1.000 0 2 0 Chala 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Muise 1 0 0 0 000 0 0 5 Podlewski 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 6 Thomas 3 8 3 16 .313 0 3 1 Rasay 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Totals 4 50 27 128 .180 0 23 45 Key--g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
Aces--Pacific (3): Wachtfogel 3. Hawaii (3): Tuyay, Theocharidis, Delgado. Assists--Pacific (54): Tamas 52, Berntsen 2. Hawaii (48): Tuyay 45, Rasay 2, Muise.
T--1:35. Officials--Michey Matthews, Eric Asami, Kitade, Brink. A--356.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
