Thursday, February 25, 1999
Aztecs take UH
to the wire
The No. 7-ranked men's
By Cindy Luis
volleyball team escape with
a five-set victory
Star-BulletinHans Stolfus' dream almost became Hawaii's worst nightmare.
Stolfus, a former Rainbow volleyball player who transfered to San Diego State two years ago, came back to haunt his ex-teammates last night at the Stan Sheriff Center. The junior hitter had a career match with 19 kills and 13 digs, but his last memory will be of his 45th kill attempt -- the one that went long -- that gave Hawaii its final point in rally scoring Game 5.
The seventh-ranked Rainbows needed 2 hours and 31 minutes to survive against the unheralded Aztecs, 15-4, 15-5, 10-15, 13-15, 16-14. It bordered on embarrassing for Hawaii, the best blocking team in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, to be outstuffed, 18-13, by the next-to-worse blocking team in the league.
The outcome left the Rainbows shaking over the one that could have easily gotten away. Hawaii was in total control after Game 2 "and we just had a big letdown," said UH's Brenton Davis. "It should never have gone to Game 5. It shouldn't have gone to Game 4.
"They (the Aztecs) played with a lot of heart. And we had no heart and no spirit. I can't attribute it to anything specifically, but it would have been a huge disappointment if we had lost. There are no easy answers for this one."
But there is a word: chemistry. Hawaii coach Mike Wilton made two substitutions in Game 3 that changed the complexion of the team -- Chris Kosty for passer Russell Lockwood and Clay Stanley for Davis at opposite.
"The kids I put in weren't playing badly," said Wilton. "There just was no chemistry and I guess my substituting could have cost us. The match was in hand.
"You have to give San Diego State a lot of credit. They really played well. But we didn't hang our heads and stayed with it. This may have done more for us than a three-game sweep."
It certainly was a morale booster for the Aztecs (1-6 overall, 1-6 MPSF). Earlier this month, San Diego State scored all of 10 points against Brigham Young and 18 total against UCLA.
"We have played some good volleyball but haven't gotten the results from it," said Aztecs coach Jack Henn. "I'm proud of them. Coming over here is a spectacle and a lot of these guys are not used to it.
"As I told them in the locker room, each of us needs to think back on one error that, if we eliminate, the outcome will be different."
Stolfus knows the one he'd like back.
"I wish I had taken a different shot at the end," he said. "But to be in that position was amazing. I've dreamt about it for two years. I'm glad we pulled together and played hard."
Hawaii (8-4, 4-3) had five players in double-figure kills, two of whom also had double-digit digs. Besides Davis, Torry Tukuafu had 18 kills and 14 digs and Andre Breuer 15 kills and 12 digs.
At Stan Sheriff Center Hawaii def. San Diego State,
15-4, 15-5, 10-15, 13-15, 16-14
Aztecs (1-6 overall, 1-6 MPSF)
g k e at pct. bs ba d Stolfus 5 19 6 45 .289 0 1 13 Corso 2 4 3 8 .125 0 0 3 Engstrom 5 8 2 16 .375 1 6 5 Hunter 5 28 9 57 .333 1 8 3 Szymanski 2 4 3 9 .111 0 0 2 Mills 5 7 4 14 .214 1 8 3 Mackin 4 6 4 15 .133 0 1 3 Koch 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Marbach 2 5 5 16 .000 0 2 8 Sanders 1 5 2 14 .214 0 4 5 Deraffalele 1 0 0 1 .000 0 0 0 Totals 5 86 38 195 .246 3 30 45
g k e at pct. bs ba d Miladinovic 5 16 5 35 .315 1 5 9 Kuo 5 3 0 4 .750 0 4 1 Breuer 5 15 7 30 .267 0 5 12 Davis 4 26 11 48 .313 0 1 6 Lockwood 5 3 2 9 .111 0 4 12 Tukuafu 5 18 11 49 .143 0 4 14 Kaven 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Kosty 2 1 0 2 .500 0 0 1 Haliniak 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 1 Stanley 2 12 3 17 .529 0 1 2 Totals 5 94 39 194 .284 1 24 58Key: g-games. k-kills. e-hitting errors. at-attempts. pct.-hitting percentage. bs-block solos. ba-block assists. d-digs.Aces--SDS (4): Stolfus 2, Marbach 1, Mills 1. UH (6): Breuer 4, Kuo 2. Assists--SDS (79): Engstrom 72, Stolfus 2, Mackin 2, Hunter 1, Koch 1, Mills 1. UH (92): Kuo 85, Lockwood 2, Miladinovic 1, Breuer 1, Davis 1, Tukuafu 1, Kosty 1.
A--3,419 turnstile (5,389 tickets). T--2:31. Officials: Dan Hironaka, Wayne Lee.
