Saturday, December 15, 2001
[ UH WARRIOR VOLLEYBALL ]
If a final decision can be made, the Hawaii men's volleyball team should be the host of the 2002 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoffs. Hawaii set to host playoffs
By Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comAt the coaches meeting last May, all 12 coaches were unanimous in allowing Hawaii an automatic berth into the quarterfinals if it hosted the tournament. Since then, one coach has balked, saying it would give the Warriors an unfair competitive advantage. MPSF officials reconsidered the proposal and said that if Hawaii could deliver regional television coverage then it could host the tournament.
Hawaii coach Mike Wilton learned that CNN/SI has agreed to televise two quarterfinals, both semifinals and the finals.
"Unless they come up with something else, it looks pretty good that we're going to be able to host," Wilton said. "But the official word on that probably won't be coming out until mid-January."
The previous tournament format had only eight of the conference's 12 teams seeded into the playoffs. The quarterfinal matches were held at the home of the higher-seeded team with the highest remaining seed in the tournament hosting the semifinals and final.
If the proposal is accepted, all 12 teams would make the playoffs. Teams seeded 5-12 would play each other at the sites of the higher-seeded teams the Saturday before the tournament with the winners joining the top four teams in Hawaii. The quarterfinals would be held the following Wednesday, the semifinals on Thursday and the final played on Saturday.
Miladinovic graduating: Senior Dejan Miladinovic will graduate on Dec. 23, but the 6-foot-7 middle blocker won't miss his final season. Miladinovic is taking another step toward reaching his goal of attaining a master's degree in business. He has already been accepted into the business school at Hawaii and will start working toward his MBA in January while completing his last year of eligibility with the Warriors.
His mother, Marta Miladinovic, is in town from Kraljevo, Serbia to attend the ceremony and will stay in Hawaii through the Outrigger Classic in January. Miladinovic had a bet with former Rainbow setter Mason Kuo that he would graduate in four years, but lost when he took an extra semester this fall. The All-American carries an overall grade-point average of 3.8 and will graduate with a double major in finance and international business, and a minor in economics.
"I don't do anything extra," Miladinovic said of his academic accomplishments.
Fall season ends: With fall practice ending last week, Wilton has pared down the 2002 roster to 20 players, including two redshirts. Gone from last year's squad are Brenton Davis and Torry Tukuafu, who completed their eligibility, and middle blocker Maulia LaBarre, who is on a church mission.
Hawaii added transfer Brian Nordberg and freshmen Delano Thomas and Jose Delgado to the team in the offseason. All three are expected to make an impact and give Hawaii greater depth.
The Warriors split a pair of matches against Penn State at State College and a pair of matches against Stanford on Maui and Molokai. They open the season on Jan. 8 against Loyola-Chicago. Hawaii will play 22 matches at home and 12 on the road. The final four will be held at Penn State.
HAWAII ROSTER
Ht. Cl. Pos. Matt Bender 6-3 Fr. OH Geronimo Chala 6-6 Jr. OH Tony Ching 6-2 Jr. OH Jose Delgado 6-3 Fr. OH Kyle Denitz 6-0 Jr. DS Rob Drew 6-8 Sr. MB Jeff Gleason 6-3 Jr. OH Dejan Miladinovic 6-7 Sr. MB Jake Muise 6-0 So. S Brian Nordberg 6-5 Jr. MB Vernon Podlewski 5-8 Sr. L Daniel Rasay 6-1 Fr. S Costas Theocharidis 6-3 Jr. OH Delano Thomas 6-7 Fr. MB *Trent Turner 6-3 Fr. OH Kimo Tuyay 6-2 So. S *Brennan Velasco 6-0 Jr. L Ryan Woodward 6-2 Jr. OH Marvin Yamada 5-8 So. L Eyal Zimet 6-2 Jr. OH * Redshirting the year
2002 SCHEDULE
Jan. 8-9, Loyola-Chicago*Jan. 17, UCLA-Lewis; Hawaii-Penn State
*Jan. 18, UCLA-Penn State; Hawaii-Lewis
*Jan. 19, Penn State-Lewis, Hawaii-UCLA
Jan. 29-30, at Stanford, Palo Alto, Calif.
Feb. 1-2, at Pacific, Stockton, Calif.
Feb. 8-9, UC San Diego
Feb. 20, 22 at Long Beach State, Calif.
Mar. 1-2 at USC, Los Angeles, Calif.
Mar. 12-13 at UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, Calif.
Mar. 15-16 at Cal State Northridge, Northridge, Calif.
Mar. 22-23 at Pepperdine, Malibu, Calif.
Mar. 29-30, UC Irvine
Apr. 5-6, UCLA
Apr. 12-13, BYU
Note: All matches are played at the Stan Sheriff Center unless otherwise noted.
* Eighth annual Outrigger Hotels Invitational
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
