WARRIOR VOLLEYBALL
Hawaii hands OSU first loss of the year
The Warriors stuff the Buckeyes 17 times to go into the tourney final on a high
It was the stuff that dreams are made of.
Or, in this case, it was the stuffs that victories are made of.
Hawaii: 3
Ohio St.: 0
Next Up vs. UCLA tonight
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The Hawaii men's volleyball team stuffed No. 9 Ohio State 17 times last night, snuffing out the Buckeyes' perfect season in the process. Dio Dante and Lauri Hakala each had career highs of nine block assists as the seventh-ranked Warriors remained undefeated in Outrigger Hotels Invitational play via a 30-19, 30-22, 30-21 victory at the Stan Sheriff Center.
The Warriors (3-1 overall, 2-0 OHVI) go for their fifth tournament title -- their second in three years -- when facing No. 5 UCLA tonight at 7. The Bruins (3-3, 1-1) snapped a three-match losing skid by sweeping No. 11 Penn State in yesterday's first match, 36-34, 30-26, 30-21.
The Nittany Lions (1-3, 0-2) will try to end their own three-match slide at 4 p.m. today against the Buckeyes (6-1, 1-1).
A crowd of 3,606 saw Hawaii dispatch Ohio State with unexpected ease in 88 minutes. The Warriors began building their victory block by block, including 10.5 in Game 1 alone.
Setter Brian Beckwith again was able to spread the offense with all five of Hawaii's attackers putting down at least six kills. Leading the way with 17 was senior Jose Delgado, whose parents are visiting from Puerto Rico for the first time in three years.
"My parents are my best friends and I call them before and after every game," said Delgado, who hit .536 and also had two of UH's three aces. "It's nice that I can just go talk to them after they watched me play. I was happy they could see me out there.
"I felt really comfortable tonight. I wanted to have fun, enjoy my last Outrigger and enjoy my last year here."
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Kyle Klinger elevated for a kill set up by Brian Beckwith against Ohio State last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
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He has extra incentive tonight against UCLA. Delgado's former club setter, Dennis Gonzalez, is the senior setter for the Bruins.
"I'm looking forward to playing them and one of my best friends," Delgado said. "We grew up together and hung out. He's a really talented guy.
"I think it will be a great match."
Ohio State coach Pete Hanson agrees. His Buckeyes swept the Bruins on Wednesday, only to have the Warriors pull the broom out on his team last night.
"If Hawaii plays like this, the Bruins could be in trouble," Hanson said. "Hawaii's offense is running really fast and clicking right now. UCLA is going to have to do a really good job from the service line.
"No, I didn't expect Hawaii to block that well, but I didn't expect us to hit or pass that poorly. (Hawaii) is a really good team, but we made it pretty easy for them, being out of system, and they ganged up on our outside hitters."
The only Buckeye to have much success was senior hitter Stuart Katz, who had 10 kills, but hit just .185. Ohio State hit .138 as a team, with no attacker over .200.
Conversely, Hawaii hit a very efficient .380, including .560 in Game 3. Hakala added nine kills and Matt Carere eight.
UCLA 3, Penn State 0
The Bruins avoided their first four-match losing streak since 1999 by sweeping the Nittany Lions.
Junior hitter Paul George had 12 kills and senior hitter Damien Scott added 11 for UCLA. Senior hitter Matt Proper and freshman hitter Max Anderson each had 15 kills for Penn State.
Hawaii def. Ohio State 30-19, 30-22, 30-21
Buckeyes (6-1, 1-1 OHI) |
|
g |
k |
e |
att |
pct. |
bs |
ba |
d |
Katz |
3 |
10 |
5 |
27 |
.185 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
Mathews |
3 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
1.000 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
Versen |
3 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
.200 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
Spurlock |
3 |
5 |
3 |
14 |
.143 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
Greaves |
3 |
7 |
6 |
19 |
.053 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
Klein |
3 |
8 |
8 |
25 |
.000 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
Meske |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Albertson |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1.000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Stevens |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Martin |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
Totals |
3 |
36 |
23 |
94 |
.138 |
1 |
13 |
27 |
|
Warriors (3-1, 2-0 OHI) |
|
g |
k |
e |
att |
pct. |
bs |
ba |
d |
Klinger |
3 |
6 |
1 |
9 |
.556 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
Delgado |
3 |
17 |
2 |
28 |
.536 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
Hakala |
3 |
9 |
2 |
17 |
.412 |
0 |
9 |
6 |
Carere |
3 |
8 |
3 |
23 |
.217 |
0 |
5 |
5 |
Beckwith |
3 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
-.400 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
Dante |
3 |
7 |
2 |
10 |
.500 |
0 |
9 |
1 |
Clar |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Carney |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Reft |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
Totals |
3 |
47 |
12 |
92 |
.380 |
0 |
35 |
32 |
Key -- g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
Aces -- OSU (1): Katz. Hawaii (3): Delgado 2, Beckwith. Assists -- OSU (34): Mathews 30, Klein 2, Greaves, Martin. Hawaii (42): Beckwith 38, Reft 2, Hakala, Carere. T -- 1:28. Officials -- Dan Hironaka, Wayne Lee. A -- 3,606.