WARRIOR VOLLEYBALL
Gauchos catch UH sleeping
The Warriors can’t overcome a late flight to California
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. » It was not just a bad dream. It was a nightmare.
UCSB: 3
HAWAII: 0
NEXT UP at Santa Barbara, today
|
The Hawaii men's volleyball team, arriving here at 1:30 yesterday morning, never fully woke up for its league opener against UC Santa Barbara last night. The Warriors took some costly naps, particularly at the ends of Games 2 and 3, in being swept by the Gauchos in 95 minutes, 30-27, 30-28, 30-25 at Robertson Gym.
All-American opposite Evan Patak put down 18 kills and Michael Fisher added 10 as UCSB improved to 2-2 overall in winning the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener for both teams.
Junior opposite Lauri Hakala led the Warriors with 15 kills in their season opener. Middles Kyle Klinger and Dio Dante combined for 14 kills with no errors in 18 swings, but it was not enough to compensate for Hawaii's lack of offense from two of its left-side hitters.
Jose Delgado and Matt Carere both hit .000, with four kills and four errors each. The only one who had much success from the left was converted libero Eric Kalima, who had six kills and hit .333.
"With the exception of Kalima, our lefts had problems," Hawaii coach Mike Wilton said. "It's not good when three starters (including middle Mauli'a La Barre) hit .000.
"The games were all very winnable; it was pretty even from a statistical standpoint. But when it came time to be steady, they were and we weren't."
The teams meet again today (5 p.m. Hawaii time). Wilton said the focus would be on passing and teamwork.
"Clearly, we need to pass better," he said. "And we did not play like a team tonight.
"Patak got his kills, but some of their other guys got away from us. They were a lot better than when we played them in October. I think they remember what we did to them and they've solved some of their problems."
In October's two scrimmage-like contests, Hawaii handled UCSB fairly easily in sweeping both nights. Last night, the Gauchos won the passing battle, which allowed freshman setter Max Klineman to run an efficient, diverse offense.
The Warriors played catch-up throughout Game 1, leading briefly at 13-12. In what would be a pattern the rest of the night, Hawaii gave up a run of points and never recovered.
The Gauchos scored three straight, including an ace by Aaron Richman, to take a 15-14 lead and never trail again.
Hawaii appeared on the verge of evening the match in Game 2 when breaking away from a 20-20 tie for a 26-23 lead. UCSB again used a three-point run to tie it at 26 and gain the momentum.
The Warriors led at 28-27 on a kill by Hakala but never scored again as the Gauchos used a kill by Patak and blocks of Hakala and Carere to close it out.
Game 3 was a seesaw battle with Hawaii tying it for the last time at 22-22. The Warriors closed to 24-23 only to have the Gauchos score four straight on Patak's 18th kill, two blocks and a kill by Richman to pull away for good.
Note: Iolani School product Jon Grobe had career- and team-highs of 17 kills and 12 digs to lead Pepperdine over visiting Stanford last night, 30-26, 30-18, 29-31, 30-24.