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Thursday, February 17, 2000
’Bows beached again
The UH men's volleyball team
By Kalani Wilhelm
follows a familiar script in falling
to No. 1-ranked Long Beach State
Special to the Star-BulletinThe nation's No. 1 team comes to town, the match goes to fifth-game rally scoring and Hawaii completely crumbles.
It was the same old script and the same bleak ending for the UH men's volleyball team as it failed to match the fire of the Long Beach State 49ers, losing, 13-15, 7-15, 15-6, 16-14, 15-13.
After taking the first two sets with ease and surprisingly dictating the pace, UH coach Mike Wilton's squad was its own nemesis the rest of the match, unable to put the Beach away after leading 13-9 in Game 4 and letting a 4-1 advantage slip away in the deciding Game 5.
It wasn't the foursome of Long Beach cheerleaders that diverted Hawaii from its biggest win of the season; the Rainbows found a way to completely distract themselves.
"Give a lot of credit to Long Beach State but we helped and kind of beat ourselves a little bit," Wilton said.
The Long Beach State block in Game 3 marked the 49ers' comeback as they accounted for seven stuffs after only recording six blocks in the previous two games.
"We had them down big time, they won that third game and from then on it was a dogfight and we couldn't quite answer the bell," said Wilton.
Long Beach State came into the game tops in the MPSF in hitting percentage and kill average. But the Rainbows held All-American outside hitters David MacKienzie and Jim Polster in check as the two combined for 46 kills but also committed 28 errors. Outside hitter Scott Farber picked up the slack, recording 25 kills including 10 slams in Game 4.Entering the final set, memories of BYU and UCLA couldn't help but linger throughout the Stan Sheriff Center and in the minds of the Rainbows.
It looked like it would be a different story this time around with the 'Bows leading, 7-4, but Long Beach countered with three straight points to tie. The Rainbows would never have the lead again.
The loss nullified Clay Stanley's best performance of the season with 39 kills. Costas Theocharidis pounded down 32 kills in Hawaii's effort.
"We play against the higher ranked teams in the nation and all the games we've lost the same way. It is frustrating," Theochardis said.
It was Stanley's fifth-game relapse with Hawaii leading, 11-10, that contributed to Hawaii's third loss of the season.
Long Beach State tied the game at 11 when Stanley mishit a ball, sending it three feet out of bounds. On the very next play, Stanley's errant swing attempt ricocheted off the antenna, giving Long Beach State a 12-11 edge.
The play that followed summed up the Rainbows' evening as the 49ers block sent Stanley to the arena floor and the 'Bows closer to defeat.
Middle Blocker Matt Prosser delivered the crushing blow, sending UH into tomorrow night's rematch questioning their efforts.
"I told my players that we met the enemy, and the enemy was us tonight," Wilton said.
Long Beach State def. Hawaii, 13-15, 7-15, 15-6, 16-14, 15-13
At the Stan Sheriff Center
49ers (9-1, 6-0 MPSF)
G K E ATT PCT. BS BA D Prosser 5 13 2 27 .407 1 7 2 McKienzie 5 26 18 61 .131 1 6 13 Seiffert 5 3 0 6 .500 0 4 8 Faber 5 25 9 49 .327 1 4 14 Callahan 2 5 0 8 .625 0 3 1 Polster 5 20 10 46 .217 2 2 16 McCappin 4 9 0 17 .529 0 6 0 Jackson 5 0 0 0 .000 0 0 11 Ekins 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Totals 5 101 39 214 .290 5 32 65
Rainbows (8-3, 4-2 MPSF)
G K E ATT PCT. BS BA D Zimet 5 7 7 25 .000 0 2 13 Krejci 5 3 1 5 .400 1 9 7 Theocharidis 5 32 11 67 .313 0 4 10 Davis 5 9 5 19 .211 0 10 1 Stanley 5 39 13 77 .338 1 6 9 Tukuafu 5 6 5 20 .050 1 7 2 Karratti 2 0 0 1 .000 0 0 0 Lockwood 5 0 0 0 .000 0 0 14 Ching 2 3 1 5 .400 0 0 1 Totals 5 99 43 219 .256 3 38 57 Key--g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
Aces--Long Beach St. (4): Polster 2, McKienzie 1, Ekins 1.. Hawaii (4): Tukuafu 2, Zimet 1, Krejci 1. Assists--Long Beach St. (98): Seiffert 90, Polster 3, McKienzie 2, Faber 2, Jackson 1. Hawaii (92): Krejci 86, Davis 2, Tukuafu 2, Zimet 1, Lockwood 1..
Officials--Ernest Ho, Wayne Lee.
A-5,099. T--3:02.
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
Ka Leo O Hawaii
