NORTHRIDGE, Calif. >> After an all-around dismal performance Wednesday, the Hawaii volleyball team bounced back and defeated Cal State Northridge 30-22, 27-30, 30-21, 30-23 last night. Rainbows bounce back
and rough up MatadorsFrom staff and wire reports
The second-ranked Warriors improved to 14-4 overall and 11-2 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The ninth-ranked Matadors drop to 11-9 and 7-8.
"We were a little flat," Hawaii coach Mike Wilton said. "I don't think we played great, but we figured out a way to win. We scrapped and dug balls."
The Warriors outdug the Matadors 33-27 and outblocked them 17.5-11.5. Hawaii passed well enough for middle blockers Dejan Miladinovic and Brian Nordberg to be effective. Two days after having a forgettable match against UC Santa Barbara, Nordberg served two aces, hit .636 with eight kills, and posted six blocks. Miladinovic stuffed eight balls and added six kills.
"Nordberg played well," Wilton said. "We scored a lot when he served. He doesn't have a devastating serve, but he caused a lot of two-point passes."
After battling to a 15-15 tie in Game 1, the Warriors used a 5-1 run to distance themselves from the Matadors. Eyal Zimet's ace gave Hawaii a 21-16 lead that it never relinquished.
Hawaii hit poorly in Game 2 and trailed the Matadors the entire way. The Warriors were down 22-18 but closed to within two at 25-23 off a kill by Dejan Miladinovic and a hitting error by Eckhard Walter. But Northridge held on to tie the match at one game apiece.
After trailing early in Game 3, the Warriors shot to a 25-19 lead behind the hitting of Jose Delgado. The freshman pounded four of five Hawaii kills during a 6-3 run that put the game out of reach for Northridge.
Hawaii controlled Game 4 from the start. The Warriors jumped out to an 8-2 lead and increased it to 20-13 after another kill by Delgado. Hawaii cruised the rest of the way. Tony Ching replaced Costas Theocharidis late in the game and pounded the match-winning kill. Ching joined the team Thursday after being medically cleared Tuesday. The junior had walking pneumonia and missed the UCSB series.
Delgado finished the match with 17 kills. Costas Theocharidis struggled early but finished with 14 kills. Zimet rounded out the double-digit performers with 13 kills and an ace.
Walter led the Matadors with 20 kills, but the conference leader hit just .109 in the match.
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation standings
Conference Overall W L Pct. GB W L UCLA 14 2 .875 -- 21 3 Pepperdine 12 2 .857 1 17 4 Hawaii 11 2 .846 1 1/2 14 4 Stanford 11 6 .647 6 1/2 12 8 BYU 9 5 .625 4 13 5 UC Santa Barbara 10 6 .625 4 14 6 CS Northridge 7 8 .467 6 1/2 11 9 Pacific 6 11 .353 8 1/2 8 13 Long Beach St. 5 11 .313 9 7 15 UC Irvine 5 11 .313 9 11 12 USC 2 14 .125 12 5 17 UC San Diego 1 15 .063 13 4 16 Hawaii def. CS Northridge
30-22, 27-30, 30-21, 30-23
Matadors (11-9, 7-8 MPSF)
g k e att pct. bs ba d
Nielsen 4 14 5 26 .346 2 2 4
Nargi 4 16 2 22 .636 2 1 2
Ozkaya 4 9 4 23 .217 3 0 7
Douglas 2 4 3 8 .125 0 0 0
Tramblie 4 0 1 2 -.500 0 2 5
Walter 4 20 15 46 .109 0 1 4
Boxaspen 3 1 3 8 -.250 0 3 0
George 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0
English 4 0 0 0 .000 0 0 5
Jandreau 1 0 0 1 .000 0 0 0
Arneson 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0
Totals 4 64 33 136 .228 7 9 27
Warriors (14-4, 11-2 MPSF)
g k e att pct. bs ba d Miladinovic 4 6 1 12 .417 2 6 3 Tuyay 4 0 0 1 .000 0 2 7 Zimet 4 13 5 24 .333 0 2 5 Podlewski 4 0 0 0 .000 0 0 6 Theocharidis 4 14 6 33 .242 2 3 3 Delgado 4 17 9 28 .286 1 4 6 Ching 1 1 0 2 .500 0 1 1 Nordberg 4 8 1 11 .636 1 5 2 Totals 4 59 22 111 .333 6 23 33 Key -- g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
Aces -- Matadors (3): Nielsen, Nargi, Walter. Hawaii (5): Nordberg 2, Theocharidis, Tuyay, Zimet. Assists -- Matadors (61): Douglas 60, English. Hawaii (57): Tuyay 51, Miladinovic 2, Delgado 2, Nordberg 2.
T -- 1:55. Officials -- Marvin Hall, John Martin. A -- 678.
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