WARRIOR VOLLEYBALL
Warriors make waves
MALIBU, Calif. » Talk about a second wind.
For the third consecutive series, Hawaii dropped the opening-night match only to notch an impressive win on the second.
And last night's victory over No. 1 Pepperdine was very impressive. The sixth-ranked Warriors swept the defending national champs 30-26, 30-20, 30-21, needing just 84 minutes to hand the Waves their first home loss in nearly two years.
The last time Pepperdine lost at Firestone Fieldhouse? Eighteen matches ago, to Hawaii, on April 16, 2004.
The last time Pepperdine was swept at home? See the above.
"I don't know what it is about that second night and us, but it would be nice to figure it out," said Warriors middle Dio Dante, who was in on six of Hawaii's 11.5 blocks. "We were just looser tonight, started to serve and pass better.
"It was just awesome, showing them that we could come back to beat them. And we beat them better than they beat us. It's a lot better feeling, being able to leave for home with the win."
Hawaii (5-4 overall, 3-3 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) will host conference leader Long Beach State (11-2, 6-1) at the Stan Sheriff Center Thursday and Friday. The loss knocked Pepperdine (7-2, 7-2) out of first place in the MPSF.
The Warriors did it with tough serving (six aces), tough defense (32 digs), solid passing and a balanced attack. Senior hitter Jose Delgado had a match-high 16 kills, hitting .406, and junior opposite Lauri Hakala added 15 kills, hitting .407.
Delgado also was in on six blocks, including a career-high three solo, and had two aces. Matt Carere added 10 kills as Hawaii hit .355 to Pepperdine's .181.
Andy Hein led the Waves with eight kills. Setter Jonathan Winder had a team-best six blocks in a match watched by 2,218, many of whom were Hawaii fans.
"I'm really happy, it was just great, and I'm glad we didn't disappoint our fans who came back to watch last night," Warriors libero Alfred Reft said after a match-high 11 digs. "Everyone was just amazing, we were firing on all cylinders. It was one of those nights where everything was working and we were in system all night.
"Pepperdine is huge and it says something that we're able to hang in with them with our blocking. It was a lot of fun."
Hawaii more than avenged its 3-2 loss from Thursday, a defeat in which the Warriors took a 2-1 lead only to lose the last two games. Last night, Hawaii spotted Pepperdine a 4-0 lead to open the match, but took the lead for good at 9-8 on a kill by Hakala.
"It was a less-than-desirable start," Warrior coach Mike Wilton said. "But I think our guys were very good at keeping their minds in the moment, didn't worry about the score, and stayed focused.
"We executed our game plan. The key was that people let go of their mistakes instead of carrying the baggage. We showed we could play good volleyball for more than two games."
The key, according to players and coaches, was the passing.
"Because we passed well, we had a lot of options, got a lot of 1-on-1 opportunities," UH associate coach Tino Reyes said. "Jose especially hit smart. And Dio and Mau (middle La Barre) were both pretty effective in the middle.
"The boys really stepped up."
Hawaii took a 3-0 lead in Game 2 and didn't let go. The Warriors pulled away early, leading 22-14 and 28-16 before finishing it off.
Game 3 was more of the same. Hawaii used a 4-0 run to break a 6-6 tie and take the lead for good. Pepperdine closed to 25-19, only to see the Warriors use another 4-0 spurt in gaining match point.
The Waves held off two attempts by the Warriors to end it, but not a third, when Hakala put down his 15th kill.
"We passed better and for sure served really well," Hakala said. "We took leads, started pushing them when they were in trouble, and kept them trouble."
MPSF standings
|
Conference |
Overall
|
|
W |
L |
Pct. |
W |
L
|
Long Beach State |
6 |
1 |
.857 |
11 |
2
|
Brigham Young |
8 |
2 |
.800 |
9 |
2
|
Pepperdine |
7 |
2 |
.778 |
7 |
2
|
USC |
4 |
3 |
.571 |
6 |
5
|
UC Irvine |
4 |
2 |
.667 |
9 |
3
|
CS Northridge |
3 |
3 |
.500 |
7 |
4
|
Hawaii |
3 |
3 |
.500 |
5 |
4
|
UC Santa Barbara |
4 |
5 |
.444 |
6 |
7
|
UCLA |
2 |
4 |
.333 |
7 |
6
|
Pacific |
2 |
6 |
.250 |
4 |
8
|
Stanford |
2 |
6 |
.250 |
4 |
9
|
UC San Diego |
0 |
7 |
.000 |
1 |
9 |
Yesterday
Hawaii def. Pepperdine, 30-26, 30-20, 30-21
CSU Northridge def. UCLA, 3-2
BYU def. USC, 30-24, 28-30, 30-27, 30-25
Pacific def. UC Santa Cruz, 30-25, 30-24, 32-30
Long Beach State def. UC San Diego, 30-25, 30-21, 30-27
Stanford def. Springfield, 30-24, 30-22, 28-30, 24-30, 19-17
Today
USC at BYU
UC San Diego at Cal Baptist
UC Irvine at UC Santa Barbara
Stanford vs. Penn State at Hall of Fame Classic, Springfield, Mass.
Hawaii def. Pepperdine
30-26, 30-20, 30-21
Hawaii (5-4, 3-3 MPSF)
|
g |
k |
e |
att |
pct. |
bs |
ba |
d
|
Delgado |
3 |
16 |
3 |
32 |
.406 |
3 |
3 |
3
|
Hakala |
3 |
15 |
4 |
27 |
.407 |
0 |
1 |
2
|
Carere |
3 |
10 |
4 |
23 |
.261 |
0 |
1 |
8
|
Beckwith |
3 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
.000 |
0 |
3 |
7
|
La Barre |
3 |
3 |
1 |
11 |
.182 |
0 |
2 |
1
|
Dante |
3 |
6 |
0 |
11 |
.545 |
1 |
5 |
0
|
Carney |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Reft |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
11
|
Totals |
3 |
51 |
13 |
107 |
.355 |
4 |
15 |
32 |
Waves (7-2, 7-2 mpsf)
|
g |
k |
e |
att |
pct. |
bs |
ba |
d
|
Hein |
3 |
8 |
1 |
15 |
.467 |
0 |
3 |
0
|
Grobe |
2 |
6 |
4 |
16 |
.125 |
0 |
1 |
4
|
Carroll |
3 |
5 |
4 |
21 |
.048 |
1 |
1 |
4
|
Hulse |
3 |
3 |
2 |
8 |
.125 |
0 |
3 |
0
|
Winder |
3 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
1.000 |
2 |
4 |
8
|
Parfitt |
3 |
7 |
4 |
23 |
.130 |
0 |
4 |
6
|
McKee |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1.000 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Schleppenbach |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
5
|
Sutherland |
3 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
-.143 |
0 |
1 |
1
|
Stalzer |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
1
|
Totals |
3 |
34 |
17 |
94 |
.181 |
3 |
17 |
29 |
Key -- g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
Aces -- Hawaii (6): Delgado 2, La Barre 2, Hakala, Carere. Pepperdine (3): Hein 2, Grobe. Assists -- Hawaii (46):Beckwith 42, Delgado, Hakala, Carere, Dante. Pepperdine (32): Winder 28, Carroll 2, Grobe, Hulse.
T -- 1:24. Officials -- Marvin Hall, John Martin. A -- 2,218.