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Saturday, March 25, 2000
’Bows’ patchwork
lineup works
Tukuafu and Chala fill in
By Dave Reardon
to spark the UH men's volleyball
team to a sweep over Stanford
Star-BulletinTorry Tukuafu spikes a ball off the Stanford block. It flies all the way back over the Hawaii endline, where a diving Geronimo Chala barely avoids an unnecessary pancake dig.
Nothing seems to be easy for the University of Hawaii men's volleyball team this season.
Not even the last point of a three-game sweep.
While leading hitter Clay Stanley pedaled an exercise bike on the sideline, Tukuafu and Chala came up huge in unfamiliar roles last night as the Rainbows won their first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match after four losses.
Hawaii beat a young Stanford team, 16-14, 15-13, 15-13. UH never trailed, but 4,130 at the Stan Sheriff Center saw the Rainbows help the Cardinal keep it close with some porous defense.
No. 6 Hawaii (6-6 MPSF, 11-8 overall) can jump past 13th-ranked Stanford (7-6, 8-8) into third place in the Pacific Division with a win in tonight's rematch at 7.
But after last night, no one seems to feel that it's a given.
"I think we made it difficult for ourselves,'' said Rainbow setter Stefan Krejci. "Maybe we're afraid of winning. But this was good for our self-confidence. It was a tough three games."Hawaii led the first game 14-6, the second 14-8, and the third 12-6. But Stanford crept back each time, as freshman Curt Toppel blasted a match-high 42 kills.
"We took some defensive naps. Maybe we can't stand prosperity. Maybe the guys like living on the edge," Rainbow coach Mike Wilton said. "There was some good. The siding-out part was good, especially considering we patched this lineup together during the week."
What's new?
This time, it was because of Stanley's right hip, which was painful enough for him to miss practice all week except Thursday.
He was cleared to play, but Wilton decided not to risk further injury.
That meant Tukuafu moved to outside hitter from middle blocker, and freshman Chala started his first match, in the middle.
"That was an easy call," Wilton said. "Torry's a real good outside hitter."
Tukuafu responded with a career-high 39 kills, which also tied Stanley's team-high single-match output for this season.
Chala connected for 14 kills, with only one error. He hit .619 and the Rainbows rocked Stanford's meager block at a .488 clip.
"I was more nervous for the team than myself," Chala said. "We had a rough, rough past couple of weeks."
Besides Stanley's injury, the illnesses and injuries seem to be behind the Rainbows - Costas Theocharidis (30 kills) and Eyal Zimet (17 kills, nine digs) are back to full-strength.
And confidence appears to be restored in Krejci at setter.
But Tukuafu remains concerned.
"I don't think we played too well tonight," he said. "Winning is a bonus. It's how you do according to your potential that's important."
The Cardinal learned last night they can hang with the Rainbows. Tonight they go for the "bonus."
"I'm proud of the way we fought back and played with heart," said Stanford coach Ruben Nieves, who played five freshmen. "But you can't let your opponent lead the entire match."
HAWAII DEF. STANFORD, 16-14, 15-13, 15-13
Cardinal (8-8, 7-6 MPSF)
G K E ATT PCT BS BA D Lukens 3 4 0 5 .800 0 2 12 Skacel 3 34 8 52 .500 0 3 8 Strache 3 8 2 21 .286 0 6 3 Strickland 3 12 4 21 .381 0 4 14 Jon Palacios 3 6 2 8 .500 0 1 3 Toppel 3 42 14 78 .359 0 2 7 Ring 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Youngberg 3 13 2 18 .611 0 4 0 Josh Palacios 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 11 Totals 3 119 32 203 .429 0 22 58
Rainbows (11-8, 6-6 MPSF)
G K E ATT PCT BS BA D Chala 3 14 1 21 .619 0 4 2 Zimet 3 17 2 26 .577 2 4 9 Krejci 3 0 0 1 .000 1 1 7 Theocharidis 3 30 6 60 .400 0 7 1 Davis 3 21 3 38 .474 0 9 0 Tukuafu 3 39 8 61 .508 1 3 6 Karratti 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Lockwood 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 18 Denitz 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Totals 3 121 20 207 .488 4 28 43 Aces--Stanford (1): Skacel. Hawaii. (5): Theocharidis 2, Chala, Zimet, Tukuafu. Assists--Stanford (113): Lukens 106, Skacel 4, Toppel 2, Strickland. Hawaii (114): Krejci 110, Zimet 3, Davis 1.
Officials--Fuller, Lee. T--2:42. A-- 515.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
