SANTA BARBARA, Calif. >> After trouncing UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday, the Hawaii volleyball team was upset 30-27, 30-25, 30-25 by the sixth-ranked Gauchos yesterday. Santa Barbara sinks
Hawaii in 3 straight games
From staff and wire reportsSecond-ranked Hawaii was swept for the first time in conference play. They were last swept by UCLA in the finals of the Outrigger Classic.
It is the first blemish on the Warriors' road record, as Hawaii (13-4, 10-2) drops to second place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. UCSB improves to 14-6 overall and 10-6 in conference play.
The loss was reminiscent of last season, when Hawaii stomped on UCSB the first night but had no answers for the Gauchos' adjustments the second day.
"We just didn't play very well," Hawaii coach Mike Wilton said. "And they did. We expected they would. We weren't equal to the challenge.
"We really helped them a lot. We were inventing ways for them to screw up."
Not that the Gauchos needed the help. UCSB had the momentum from the start. The Gauchos built an early lead in Game 1 and sustained it even after the Warriors threatened to come back. Hawaii squandered a five-point lead in Game 2 and never played like it was still in the match after UCSB surged to an early lead in Game 3.
A day after Hawaii's outside hitters were unstoppable, it was Gaucho attackers Andy Rivera and Ben Koski who couldn't miss. Rivera hit .379 and led UCSB with 18 kills. Koski had another solid performance with 14 kills while Jan Carlo Zegarra added 10.
The Warriors struggled offensively against tougher serving from the Gauchos. UCSB blasted four aces, including three by Koski.
Hawaii never found its rhythm and didn't muster much of a middle attack. Warrior middle blockers Dejan Miladinovic and Brian Nordberg were set a total of 18 times out of 104 total attempts.
"They probably served a little tougher and we passed a lot worse," Wilton said.
Costas Theocharidis hammered 19 kills again, but had six hitting errors. Jose Delgado chipped in 12 kills, but was aced three times by the Gauchos.
Hawaii can still clinch a spot in the conference playoffs if it wins the rest of its matches this week. The Warriors play Cal State Northridge tomorrow and Saturday at 5 p.m. Hawaii time.
UC Santa Barbara def. Hawaii
30-27, 30-25, 30-25
Warriors (13-4, 10-2 MPSF)
g k e att pct. bs ba d Milodinovic 3 4 2 8 .250 0 4 1 Tuyay 3 1 0 1 1.000 1 3 3 Zimet 3 6 5 15 .067 0 4 2 Theocharidis 3 19 6 45 .289 0 1 8 Delgado 3 12 4 25 .320 0 0 2 Nordberg 3 3 4 9 -.111 0 3 1 Chala 2 0 0 1 .000 0 0 0 Muise 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Podlewski 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 2 Totals 3 45 21 104 .231 1 15 19 Gauchos (14-6, 10-6 MPSF)
g k e att pct. bs ba d Galang 3 3 0 4 .750 0 1 4 Koski 3 14 4 28 .357 1 5 1 Zegarra 3 10 2 21 .381 0 2 10 Rivera 3 18 7 29 .379 0 2 4 Kennedy 3 6 2 11 .364 1 3 0 Adams 3 6 1 12 .417 0 8 0 Lienert 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Busam 3 0 0 1 .000 0 0 0 Mansfield 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 3 Totals 3 57 16 106 .387 2 21 22 Key--g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
Aces--UH (2): Muise, Theocharidis. UCSB (4): Koski, Rivera. Assists--UH (43): Tuyay 42, Zimet. UCSB (52): Galang 47, Mansfield 3, Kennedy, Zegarra.
UH Athletics
