Warriors volleyball falls in 5
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NORTHRIDGE, Calif. » Winnable turned into unobtainable for the Hawaii men's volleyball team last night.
NEXT UP: at CS Northridge, today
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The 13th-ranked Warriors lost a five-gamer on the road for the third time this season, losing a golden opportunity to improve their chances for a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoff berth. Instead, Hawaii became the latest addition to Cal State Northridge's 12-match winning streak.
Eric Vance put down 40 kills and Kamehameha graduate Isaac Kneubuhl added 19 to lead the Matadors past the Warriors 30-28, 41-43, 26-30, 30-22, 15-13 at the Matadome. With the win, CSUN (18-4, 14-3 MPSF) moved to within a half-game of league leader Long Beach State.
"It's more than a little disappointing," Warriors coach Mike Wilton said, "because that was a real winnable match."
The loss dropped Hawaii (10-12, 7-10) into a tie for the eighth and last playoff spot with USC. The Trojans have the tiebreaker against the Warriors.
Freshman Brennon Dyer had a career-high 18 kills and senior Jake Schkud added 12 kills and a career-high five aces for Hawaii.
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NORTHRIDGE, Calif. » There was nothing lucky about the new ranking for the No. 13 Hawaii men's volleyball team.
Instead of moving closer to a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoff berth, the Warriors took a step back when they fell to No. 2 Cal State Northridge 30-28, 41-43, 26-30, 30-22, 15-13 after 2 hours and 56 minutes at the Matadome.
Led by Eric Vance's 40 kills and 19 from Isaac Kneubuhl (Kamehameha '03), the Matadors shook off a 12-day layoff to win their school-record 12th straight. CSUN (14-3, 18-4 MPSF), undefeated at home in eight matches, looks to extend both streaks when it hosts Hawaii (10-12, 7-10) again tonight (4 p.m. Hawaii time).
The Warriors, slipping into a tie for the eighth and last playoff berth, got a career-high 18 kills from freshman Brennon Dyer. Senior Jake Schkud added 12 kills and a career-high five aces, while sophomore libero Ric Cervantes set an MPSF rally scoring record with 28 digs.
"It was a little disappointing ... no, a lot disappointing ... because that was a real winnable match," Hawaii coach Mike Wilton said after his team lost to CSUN for the first time since 2004. "We missed a lot of serves at crucial times and we lost the ability to take good swings at critical times.
"Some of our guys were tipping instead of bringing the heat. It was young player kind of stuff."
Hawaii's lineup was made younger by injury and illness. Sitting out last night was junior kill leader Jim Clar (shoulder) and sophomore middle Matt Rawson (illness and shoulder). Dyer played in place of Clar, and Rawson was replaced by freshman Keali'i Frank, who finished with 10 kills, an ace and was in on six of the Warriors' 17 blocks.
Hawaii has little time to recuperate and regroup for the rematch. Wilton said it will be a match-time decision as to the availability of Clar and Rawson.
"The team with the most energy will win tomorrow," Wilton said. "I thought, with the exception of Game 4, we had good energy."
Hawaii, looking at the end of a four-match, eight-day road trip, faltered in Game 5. The Warriors' only lead came at 5-4 on what would be Dyer's final kill.
Trailing 14-12, Hawaii held off one match point via Schkud's 12th kill, but the senior hit wide on the next play to end it. The Warriors are 4-4 in five-game matches.
The loss overshadowed Hawaii's impressive stand in Game 2. The Warriors held off three CSUN game points before taking their first at 32-31.
Hawaii took six swings at ending it, but the Matadors hung tough, finally regaining the lead at 38-37. CSUN failed to convert on two game points with the Warriors going back ahead at 40-39.
CSUN tied it at 40 and again at 41, the 28th and last tie. Frank's kill gave Hawaii its ninth chance for the win. The Warriors finally ended it by stuffing Kneubuhl.
The 43-41 score was the second longest in the rally scoring era for Hawaii. In 2001, the Warriors outlasted UCLA in a 44-42 Game 4, but lost the match in five to the Bruins.
The seesaw Game 3 went Hawaii's way at the end. Down 25-24, the Warriors scored six straight -- five behind Sean Carney's serve -- and blocked Vance for the win.
Hawaii got down early in Game 4 and never caught up, losing momentum to the Matadors that would carry over to Game 5.
CSU Northridge def. Hawaii
30-28, 41-43, 26-30, 30-22, 15-13
Warriors (10-12, 7-10 MPSF)
|
g |
k |
e |
att |
pct |
d |
bs |
ba |
pts
|
Grgas |
5 |
5 |
3 |
12 |
.167 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
8.5
|
Carney |
5 |
4 |
3 |
9 |
.111 |
8 |
0 |
7 |
9.5
|
Walker |
5 |
10 |
8 |
37 |
.054 |
8 |
0 |
2 |
11.0
|
Frank |
5 |
10 |
1 |
14 |
.643 |
5 |
0 |
6 |
14.0
|
Schkud |
5 |
12 |
8 |
44. |
091 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
19.5
|
Dyer |
5 |
18 |
7 |
51 |
.216 |
6 |
0 |
6 |
21.0
|
Cervantes |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
28 |
0 |
0 |
0.0
|
Zemljak |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0.5
|
China |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0.0
|
Komar |
2 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0
|
Totals |
5 |
59 |
30 |
171 |
.170 |
63 |
2 |
30 |
84.0 |
Matadors (18-4, 14-3 MPSF)
|
g |
k |
e |
att |
pct |
d |
bs |
ba |
pts
|
Kneubuhl |
5 |
19 |
10 |
53 |
.170 |
9 |
0 |
2 |
22.0
|
Blueming |
5 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
-.500 |
9 |
1 |
2 |
2.0
|
McKniff |
5 |
15 |
2 |
23 |
.565 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
18.5
|
Gaudino |
5 |
4 |
5 |
20 |
-.050 |
18 |
1 |
2 |
7.0
|
Tice |
5 |
3 |
0 |
11 |
.273 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
5.5
|
Vance |
5 |
40 |
12 |
86 |
.326 |
9 |
1 |
2 |
46.0
|
Pompei |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0
|
Keohohou |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
20 |
0 |
0 |
0.0
|
Adams |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0
|
Baxter |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0.0
|
Totals |
5 |
81 |
31 |
198 |
.253 |
71 |
5 |
14 |
101.0 |
|
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 -- Hawaii (8): Schkud 5, Carney 2, Frank. CSUN (8): Vance 4, Kneubuhl 2, McKniff, Gaudino. Assists -- Hawaii (56): Carney 42, Zemljak 7, Cervantes 4, Grgas, Frank, Schkud. CSUN (80): Bluemling 71, Kneubuhl 4, McKniff 2, Keohohou 2, Baxter.
T --2:56. Officials -- Tony Chan, John Martin. A -- 728.
MPSF standings
|
W |
L |
Pct. |
|
GB |
W-L
|
Long Beach State |
14 |
2 |
.875 |
|
-- |
19-3
|
CSU Northridge |
14 |
3 |
.823 |
|
1/2 |
18-4
|
BYU |
12 |
4 |
.750 |
|
2 |
17-4
|
Stanford |
9 |
7 |
.563 |
|
2 1/2 |
14-7
|
UCLA |
9 |
7 |
.563 |
|
2 1/2 |
14-10
|
Pepperdine |
9 |
8 |
.529 |
|
5 1/2 |
10-8
|
UC Irvine |
7 |
9 |
.438 |
|
7 |
11-12
|
Hawaii |
7 |
10 |
.411 |
|
7 1/2 |
10-12
|
USC |
7 |
10 |
.411 |
|
7 1/2 |
10-13
|
UCSB |
6 |
10 |
.375 |
|
8 |
9-12
|
UC San Diego |
3 |
13 |
.188 |
|
11 |
7-15
|
Pacific |
1 |
15 |
.063 |
|
13 |
4-18 |
Yesterday
CSU Northridge def. Hawaii, 30-28, 41-43, 26-30, 30-22, 15-13
UC Santa Barbara def. Cal Baptist, 30-21, 32-30, 30-19
Today
Hawaii at CSU Northridge, 4 p.m. Hawaii time
Tomorrow
Long Beach State at UC Irvine