JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Nemanja Komar put down a kill past Loyola's Ian Anderson in the first game last night. The Warriors won in four games, sweeping the two-match series.
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UH hopes to build on Loyola sweep
As good as a sweep might have looked in the scorebook, it's not what Hawaii needed.
Not when the Warriors have nearly half their Mountain Pacific Sports Federation volleyball schedule remaining, all 10 matches crucial to their playoff hopes.
Last night, Hawaii got what it wanted and needed when turning back No. 12 Loyola-Chicago. The Warriors survived a 33-kill outing by Ramblers senior opposite Ian Anderson, rallying late in Game 4 to preserve a 30-25, 30-21, 26-30, 30-26 victory in front of 1,384 (2,673 tickets) at the Stan Sheriff Center.
"It was a really good win for us, hopefully gives us the momentum we need the rest of the season," Hawaii junior setter Sean Carney said. "We did mess up. Game 3, we didn't play our game, and hopefully we'll learn from that.
"We did play well but at times we were streaky. We've got to iron that out before our next game."
The Warriors (8-9) don't have much time to celebrate before hosting defending national champion UC Irvine next Friday and Saturday. What Hawaii can build on is the effort it took to battle back late in Game 4, tying it at 26-26 on a kill by Matt Rawson, then having Carney serve the last four points in putting away the Ramblers (10-8).
"All I was thinking was, 'Don't serve it out,'" Carney said.
He kept it in, including an ace that ended it after 2 hours and 6 minutes.
Junior hitter Jim Clar led the Warriors with 20 kills and senior opposite Jake Schkud added 12. But it was Hawaii's defense that came through at the end, anchored by sophomore libero Ric Cervantes (16 digs) and 10 blocks by Steven Grgas.
"Every time you make a defensive stop, it takes the air out of them, particularly on the long rallies," Cervantes said. "We did a really good job in transition.
"It's a really good win for us. It was a good overall team effort for us in the fourth game."
The night started out looking as if Hawaii would pick up its second consecutive sweep.
Except for six service errors, the Warriors played about as efficiently as they had all season when winning Game 1. Hawaii had just one hitting error in taking a 22-19 lead, with Clar having an impressive night with seven kills and no errors in 11 swings.
Clar continued his hot streak in Game 2, not committing and error until his 18th attempt. By then he had 11 kills and Hawaii an 18-14 lead.
The Warriors expanded their margins to 26-16 and 29-19, needing three swings to end it. Matt Rawson's kill sent Hawaii into the locker room with a 2-0 lead and thoughts of a second consecutive sweep.
The Ramblers had other ideas, jumping out quickly 6-0 in Game 3 and leading by as much as 19-10. The Warriors managed to cut the gap to two, the last at 26-24, only to have Anderson score three of the team's final four points to push it to Game 4.
"Those last two games was what I was expecting from (Loyola)," Hawaii coach Mike Wilton said. "We groveled and got back in it."
Hawaii outblocked Loyola 18.5-6.5. Carney, Schkud and Nemanja Komar all were in on five.
Hawaii def. Loyola-Chicago
30-25, 30-21, 26-30, 30-26
Ramblers (10-8, 4-2 miva)
|
g |
k |
e |
att |
pct |
d |
bs |
ba |
pts |
Kamberos |
4 |
11 |
4 |
27 |
.259 |
14 |
0 |
2 |
12.0 |
Morice |
2 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3.5 |
Hutz |
4 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
.000 |
11 |
0 |
1 |
3.5 |
Anderson |
4 |
33 |
11 |
67 |
.328 |
6 |
0 |
2 |
36.0 |
Guntli |
4 |
6 |
7 |
32 |
-.031 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
9.5 |
Lamoureux |
4 |
7 |
4 |
16 |
.188 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
9.0 |
Jensen |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
Exline |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
Leis |
2 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
-.667 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
1.0 |
Baleiko |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
Totals |
4 |
62 |
33 |
155 |
.187 |
53 |
0 |
13 |
74.5 |
warriors (8-9, 5-7 MPSF)
|
g |
k |
e |
att |
pct |
d |
bs |
ba |
pts |
Rawson |
3 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
1.000 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
6.0 |
Grgas |
4 |
3 |
2 |
13 |
.077 |
1 |
3 |
7 |
10.5 |
Clar |
4 |
20 |
7 |
50 |
.260 |
5 |
0 |
2 |
24.0 |
Carney |
4 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
.000 |
9 |
0 |
5 |
5.5 |
Walker |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
Schkud |
4 |
12 |
3 |
33 |
.273 |
8 |
0 |
5 |
15.5 |
Cervantes |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
16 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
Frank |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
.333 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1.5 |
Brizuela |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.000 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
Zemljak |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
China |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
Komar |
4 |
8 |
4 |
20 |
.200 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
12.0 |
Dyer |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
.500 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1.5 |
Totals |
4 |
50 |
17 |
134 |
.246 |
49 |
4 |
29 |
76.5 |
Key -- g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct: hitting percentage; d: digs; bs: block solo; ba: block assists; pts: points (kills + blocks + aces)
Aces -- Loyola (6): Anderson 2, Guntli 2, Hutz, Lamoureux. Hawaii (8): Clar 3, Carney 2, Grgas, Schkud, Komar. Assists -- Loyola (59): Hutz 50, Exline 4, Kambreros 2, Jensen 2, Guntli 1. Hawaii (48): Carney 45, Cervantes 2, Zemljak.
T -- 2:06. Officials -- Ernie Ho, Wayne Lee. A -- 1,384.