Thursday, March 22, 2001
It's a match-up that no one has seen before. Rainbows play
Wildcats, hope to put
on an exhibitionBy Grace Wen
Star-BulletinThe University of Hawaii men's volleyball team hosting the University of Arizona.
No, Arizona is not a new member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The Wildcats are a club team.
While not the marquee match typical of most Hawaii opponents, the exhibition matches tomorrow and Saturday against the Wildcats do give the Warriors the opportunity to play a few extra matches.
According to Hawaii head coach Mike Wilton, there are a couple of reasons to schedule exhibition matches.
"There's so few teams to play,'' Wilton said. "Loyola Marymount is gone and San Diego State is gone. To have a full 28-match schedule, we've got to do this. It's real important that we have home matches here because it makes money for the department, so that's a factor, too. And I didn't want to sit this week and have some gaps late in the year. It's important to keep playing late in the year.''
With Loyola Marymount and San Diego State dropping their programs last year, the number of schools sponsoring Division I men's volleyball has fallen to 21 -- 12 of them in the MPSF.
The loss of the Lions and the Aztecs left MPSF teams short at least two matches this season and searching for additional competition.
The Wildcats may not be a varsity team, but they have enjoyed enough success that some Division I schools won't schedule them.
The reason?
Division I schools have nothing to gain by competing against club teams.
Two years ago, Arizona beat UCLA to win the annual UC Santa Barbara tournament. And earlier this year, Arizona defeated Pacific, a Pacific Division foe of the Warriors.
Part of Arizona's success can be attributed to the philosophy of head coach Steve Carlat, who works hard to bridge the gap between clubs and Division I programs.
"We try to be on par with Division I programs in terms of recruiting and scholarship amount,'' Carlat said.
"We want to be considered a peer group of Division I, II and III programs. We try to operate on a parallel level."
As a club team, Arizona is unique in that it even has scholarships to offer. Sponsors donate money through the University Foundation, which sets aside a sum to pay for the volleyball coaching staff and player scholarships.
The Wildcats are also the only club that travels to junior tournaments to actively recruit players.
The athletes who comprise Arizona's team are atypical of most club teams. Since the National Intramural and Recreational Sports Association governs club programs, different rules operate for players.
Club members have six years of eligibility, and graduate students can compete as well. These factors have contributed to the Wildcats' success over the last few years.
While there may not be many benefits to playing exhibition matches against club teams, they do offer some competition while filling gaps in the schedule.
However, don't expect to see these exhibition matches on the UH schedule next year. Last fall, officials and coaches of the MPSF decided to adopt a new format for 2002.
The conference's two divisions, the Mountain and the Pacific, will combine to form one division. Each team will play opponents twice, alternating home status, except for Hawaii and BYU, who will alternate yearly due to their distance from conference opponents.
This provides a team with 22 conference matches, five more than on the current schedule.
VOLLEYBALL
When: 7 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
TV: Live, KFVE
Radio: None
Internet: None
Tickets
May be purchased at the Stan Sheriff Center box office and all Ticket Plus outlets or by calling 526-4400.
Lower level $12 Upper level $9 Seniors $8 Students 4-18 $6 Super Rooter (lower) $7 Super Rooter guest $12 Parking $3
Starting Lineups
Hawaii (14-3, 9-2)
Ht. KPG Aces Digs S Kimo Tuyay (Fr.) 6-2 .36 10 76 MB Dejan Miladinovic (Jr.) 6-7 1.98 14 17 MB Brenton Davis (Sr.) 6-5 2.61 13 24 OH Costas Theocharidis (So.) 6-3 4.98 15 84 OH Jake Muise (Fr.) 5-11 0.00 0 0 Opp Torry Tukuafu (Sr.) 6-5 2.88 19 76 L Vernon Podlewski (Jr.) 5-8 N/A N/A 130
Arizona (33-4)
Ht. KPG Aces Digs S Jeff Grobe (Jr.) 6-3 -- -- -- MB Ty Hayes (Fr.) 6-6 -- -- -- MB Nick Thompson (Sr.) 6-5 -- -- -- MB Vince Rooney (Sr.) 6-6 -- -- -- OH Kevin Jones (Jr.) 6-5 -- -- -- OH Matt Olson (Jr.) 6-3 -- -- -- L Trevor Olson (Fr.) 6-2 -- -- -- Notes: The University of Arizona does not keep statistics. ... Hawaii and Arizona have never faced each other in men's volleyball.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
