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Hawaii Beat
Star-Bulletin staff
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Bender back at volleyball practice
Senior opposite Matt Bender has had the cast on his left ankle removed and returned to practice yesterday for the Hawaii men's volleyball team.
Bender severely sprained his ankle Jan. 4 during practice. He had been doing light workouts with the team while wearing a protective boot but officially returned yesterday.
Bender will continue his rehabilitation for the next two weeks and is expected to miss next week's road trip when the No. 7 Warriors face top-ranked Pepperdine Thursday and Friday. He could return to competition as early as the Feb. 16-17 series against No. 3 Long Beach State at the Stan Sheriff Center.
In other volleyball news:
» Defending national champion Washington, Texas and Ohio will join host Wisconsin for the AVCA/College Volleyball Showcase, Aug. 25-26, at the UW Field House in Madison, it was announced yesterday.
» This year's 26th NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship, scheduled for the Qwest Center in Omaha, has already sold out.
Blocks of tickets have been reserved for the four teams participating in the tournament, scheduled for Dec. 14 and 16.
» The inaugural Hawaiian Classic International Volleyball Tournament, featuring junior teams from the U.S., China, Japan and Canada, is scheduled for June 14-19 at the Hawaii Convention Center.
Play for girls, ages 12-15, is June 14-16 with competition for girls and boys, ages 16-18, June 17-19.
The tournament is being put together by TranSports Athletics. For information, the Web site is www.gotransports.com.
HPU sweeps doubleheader with No. 6 team
Hawaii Pacific opened its season with two straight wins over a top-10 team.
The Sea Warriors swept No. 6 Chico State 3-1, 5-2 in a Division II baseball doubleheader last night at Hans L'Orange Park.
Mario Ramirez went all seven innings in the opener to earn the win. Adam Arakawa had a double and scored twice, and Michael Kealoha had two RBIs.
In the nightcap, HPU got four runs in the bottom of the sixth and Matt Burson came on in relief for the win. Kealoha closed out the last inning for a save.
The two teams play another doubleheader tonight and two more games tomorrow.
