Wednesday, March 28, 2001

Hawaii voyages
out on mega
4-game road trip

By Grace Wen
Star-Bulletin

The University of Hawaii men's volleyball team begins a crucial road trip tonight, playing four matches in four days.

The Warriors (14-3, 9-2 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) face UC Irvine tonight, UCLA tomorrow and Friday, and the Anteaters again on Saturday.

Although UCLA will be Hawaii's biggest challenge, the Pacific Division leaders aren't overlooking Irvine either.

"Irvine is a good team and they're on the bubble right now for making the playoffs, so every match for them is huge," UH head coach Mike Wilton said. "They're the kind of team that absolutely won't beat themselves. You just have to be patient and business-like. They're just real sound and well-coached. We got four big challenges all four nights."

The ninth-ranked Anteaters (9-10, 5-7) started the season slowly, losing five of their first six matches. However, UCI has been on a roll lately, winning six of its last seven, including a five-game win on the road against No. 6 Pepperdine.

Crucial to the Warriors' performance tonight will be containing middle blocker Erick Helenihi. The senior, named AVCA player of the week on March 19, pounded 30 kills and has been on a hitting tear, averaging 5.27 kills per game during the Anteaters' last three matches.

Besides Helenihi, Hawaii has its own lineup to worry about. While both Eyal Zimet and Tony Ching had good practices yesterday, the two are still recovering from injuries.

Following tonight's match, Hawaii will have little recuperation time, as they face UCLA tomorrow. The Warriors have not beaten the Bruins on the road since 1983. UCLA (17-5, 9-3) has won the last four meetings, including a marathon five-game win at this year's Outrigger Invitational.

However, UCLA head coach Al Scates predicts more tough matches. But Scates confesses that he hasn't seen the Warriors since that first meeting, when Costas Theocharidis, Hawaii's leading hitter, was coming off an injury.

"He's probably much sharper now," Scates said. "He's a player that has all the shots. You just have to put up a solid defense and slow some balls down. He's going to get a lot of kills. There's no way to shut him down, but you just hope to get some digs off him."

Note: Hawaii received six first-place votes in yesterday's AVCA Coaches Top 25 poll, but remained at No. 2.

MEN'S VOLLEYBALL Tonight: UH at UC Irvine, 5 p.m. Tomorrow: UH at UCLA, 5 p.m. Friday: UH at UCLA, 5 p.m. Saturday: UH at UC Irvine, 5 p.m. TV: None. Radio: Live on 1420-AM.

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http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu