Top-ranked Matadors up next for Warriors
The rides at Disneyland yesterday were pretty tame compared to the wild ride the Hawaii men's volleyball team took Saturday night at the Galen Center.
Several of the Warriors spent the Easter holiday at the theme park some 30 miles south of the USC campus, where their Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match turned into their own Adventureland.
Hawaii (10-11, 7-9 MPSF) came up short in nearly every statistical category except the most important one -- the score -- in the critical conference match. The Warriors somehow squeaked past the Trojans 30-28, 16-30, 17-30, 32-30, 17-15 despite trailing in kills (88-56), aces (10-3) and digs (70-39).
In fact, USC's Murphy Troy (32) and Juan Figueroa (27) combined for more kills than UH had as a team. Still, the Warriors prevailed, playing without their kill leader (Jim Clar) and losing one of their top blockers (Matt Rawson) after Game 2.
Clar and Rawson, both slowed by shoulder injuries, may be available when the Warriors travel to top-ranked Cal State Northridge for matches tomorrow and Wednesday. UH coach Mike Wilton said it might be a game-time decision whether either or both will play.
Hawaii is tied with UC Irvine for the last two playoff spots, just a half-game ahead of USC.