Warriors win
their eighth straightTop-ranked Hawaii beats
No. 15 Pacific in four games
STOCKTON, Calif. >> Hawaii celebrated its new No. 1 ranking in a big way, completing a sweep of its four-match road trip with a perfect record.
The Warrior volleyball team won its eighth straight, wearing down No. 15 Pacific 30-20, 24-30, 30-27, 30-19 after an hour and 55 minutes at the Spanos Center. A crowd of 337 saw Hawaii improve to 10-2 overall, 7-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, and take a full game lead in the standings over idle BYU (7-3, 5-1).
Sophomore hitter Pedro Azenha again led the Warriors with 18 kills while junior hitter Delano Thomas added 17. Senior middle Josh Stanhiser had 12 kills, with no errors in 15 swings.
"He'd be my player of the game," Warrior coach Mike Wilton said. "We try to run the middle as much as we can, and Josh did a little bit of everything."
Stanhiser was in on six blocks, as UH won the battle at the net 10-4. He also had one of the Warriors' nine service aces, on the final point of Game 3 to give Hawaii the swing game.
"I thought our energy level was much better tonight, but we still played like a tired team," Wilton said of his team playing its fourth match in five days. "Pacific brought the kitchen sink on every serve and when they got their serve going, those were the games that they were in."
The Tigers (4-11, 2-8) torched the Warriors for a season-high 15 aces, four each by Nils Dauburs, who leads the nation in aces, and Saint Louis School graduate Brian Zodrow.
Dauburs, suspended for Monday's game for an unspecified reason, led Pacific with 15 kills. Sean Rodgers added 10.
"Daubers maybe gave them more energy and was more of a hitting threat," Wilton said. "He does have a good serve."
The Tigers had eight aces in Game 2, three by Dauburs, in evening the match at 1. Game 3 was a seesaw battle, with Hawaii finally taking the lead at 28-26 on three consecutive points.
Pacific closed to 28-27 on a kill by Zadrow, but a service error by Bryson Metz (Kamehameha) gave the Warriors game point. Stanhiser's lone ace finished it and gave Hawaii the momentum.
The Warriors jumped out early in Game 4 and led by a comfortable margin most of the way. A late rally brought the Tigers to within 26-18, but Hawaii closed it out on a 3-1 run.
Frazier makes his case in title appeal: The appeal for Hawaii to retain its 2002 championship continued over last weekend when athletic director Herman Frazier met with NCAA representatives in Phoenix.
Frazier and Walter Kirimitsu (UH vice president for legal affairs), Jan Gouveia (former UH associate general counsel) and Rick Evrard of Bond, Schoeneck & King took an hour to present the case on Saturday.
"We are pleased that the NCAA offered us the opportunity to present our case," Frazier said in a press release. "The NCAA said they would have a decision for us within the next three weeks."
At issue is the eligibility of 2003 Player of the Year Costas Theocharidis, who participated in a pro league in his native Greece. Last September, the NCAA notified UH that it would have to vacate the title; the appeal process has been under way since then.
"I don't know what to think about the NCAA," Wilton said. "I'm glad they aren't making a flippant decision. One of the lawyers involved did call me to ask for information on which teams in the last 10 years that won national (volleyball) titles had international players."
Wilton said former BYU coach Carl McGown called him after the NCAA decision first was rendered. The Cougars had international players on the roster when they won in 1999 and 2001.
"Carl said if the NCAA applies the rule to them, using the same logic they are applying to us, then there is no discussion that BYU will also lose its titles," Wilton said. "All I want is a decision that I can understand. If they pull our title, then they are going to have to investigate every team that has won the title prior to Aug. 1, 2002."
Hawaii def. Pacific
30-20, 24-30, 30-27, 30-19
Warriors (10-2, 7-1 MPSF) g k e att pct. bs ba d Delgado 4 3 1 9 .222 0 3 9 Jeschke 4 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Beckwith 4 1 1 3 .000 0 3 5 Reft 4 0 0 0 .000 0 0 7 Azenha 4 18 5 27 .481 0 2 4 LaBarre 4 5 1 10 .400 1 3 2 Thomas 4 17 9 37 .216 0 1 2 Stanhiser 4 12 0 15 .800 0 6 0 Totals 4 56 17 101 .386 1 18 29 Tigers (4-11, 2-8 MPSF) g k e att pct. bs ba d Gawlik 4 0 0 0 .000 0 0 7 Hazelett 4 0 3 4 -.750 0 2 6 Brizuela 4 9 5 24 .167 0 0 8 Zodrow 4 8 7 28 .036 0 0 2 Adamson 1 2 1 5 .200 1 0 1 Hammer 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Metz 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Dauburs 4 15 8 26 .269 0 1 1 Catania 4 1 3 8 -.250 0 2 3 Rodgers 4 10 0 15 .667 0 1 0 Totals 4 45 27 110 .164 1 6 28
Key -- g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
Aces -- Hawaii (9): Thomas 4, Azenha 2, Stanhiser, Beckwith, Delgado. Pacific (15): Dauburs 4, Zodrow 4, Hazelett 2, Brizuela 2, Metz, Catania, Rodgers. Assists -- Hawaii (52): Beckwith 48, Delgado 2, Reft, LaBarre. Pacific (43): Hazelett.
T -- 1:55. Officials -- Bill Forrester, Eric Asami. A -- 337.
