[UH VOLLEYBALL]
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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. >> The ear-to-ear grin will probably be fixed on his face for a long time. Seniors smiling after win
By Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comAfter all, Dejan Miladinovic has five-and-a-half years of smiling time he needs to make up.
The often scowling Miladinovic turned his frown upside down after the Warriors captured their first national championship yesterday, defeating Pepperdine 3-1.
It has been a long career, but the senior is grateful that it has lasted this long. Miladinovic has battled his body the last half decade and it didn't end after the championship match.
He had shoulder surgery between his sophomore and junior years, and back pains this season, and almost hurt himself trying to climb into the crowd.
Moments after receiving his NCAA championship watch, an exuberant Miladinovic tried to hop onto a table, but the chair he used as a take-off point gave way. He nearly landed on his head, but that didn't stop the senior from scrambling to his feet to let everyone remaining at Recreation Hall know that it was about "championship time."
"It's a perfect ending to a college career," Miladinovic said. "I couldn't ask for more. I had a better year than last year. The whole team had a better year. To finish it on the All-American team and just to top it with this one. The All-America team wouldn't mean anything without the ring. This is the ultimate feeling. It's a dream come true. We were underdogs but we knew we could pull it off."
Miladinovic had seven kills, five blocks and an ace in his last appearance in a Warrior uniform.
Only a small handful of players can win the last match of their careers. Miladinovic and libero Vernon Podlewski are the only victors in 2002.
"It is my first championship I've ever won," Podlewski said. "I've always been the underdog. I've never made it. The closest I've ever come was third place. For me, I've always been fighting and giving it my all. Tonight I tried my hardest I could to stop the ball from hitting the ground."
Podlewski had nine digs and was one of the major reasons that Pepperdine's hitters had to take extra swings at the ball to get it down. In Thursday's semifinal, the Hali'imaile native scrambled for 15 digs as a strong defensive effort put Hawaii in the championship match.
As the smallest Warrior on the court, Podlewski works hard to make sure no one will forget him. And he feels vindicated after not being introduced at the start of both championship matches.
"Vernon had a great championship," Hawaii coach Mike Wilton said. "He was unbelievable in the semifinals. He passed great. He dug unbelievable amounts of balls. He was just in the right spot all the time."
Hawaii will miss both seniors, but there is a core group returning for next year that has already gleaned what they can.
"Those two players have helped me progress my first two years here," Kimo Tuyay said. "We're going to miss them all."
Hawaii def. Pepperdine
29-31, 31-29, 30-21, 30-24
Warriors (24-8) g k e att pct. bs ba d Miladinovic 4 7 4 13 .231 0 7 1 Tuyay 4 1 0 1 1.000 0 3 3 Zimet 4 13 3 25 .400 0 4 13 Theocharidis 4 19 6 38 .342 1 3 2 Ching 4 17 3 27 .519 0 3 9 Thomas 4 7 1 13 .462 0 4 2 Podlewski 4 0 0 0 .000 0 0 11 Totals 4 64 17 117 .402 1 24 41 Waves (29-5) g k e att pct. bs ba d Van Reusen 4 8 3 14 .357 1 3 1 Daniels 4 2 1 4 .250 0 3 2 Keenan 4 14 4 26 .385 0 7 1 Winters 4 13 5 27 .296 0 4 7 Walker 4 17 8 36 .250 0 5 5 Rooney 4 18 6 45 .267 0 1 6 Gledhill 4 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Olson 4 0 0 0 .000 0 0 11 Totals 4 72 27 152 .296 1 23 33 Key - g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
Aces - Hawaii (8): Thomas 3, Theocharidis 2, Miladinovic, Tuyay, Zimet. Pepperdine (4): Keenan 2, Daniels, Walker. Assists - Hawaii (62): Tuyay 59, Miladinovic, Zimet, Ching. Pepperdine (67): Daniels 63, Winters, Walker, Rooney, Olson.
T - 2:02. Officials - Marvin Hall, Bill Madara, Alan Stankaitis. A -5,357.
NCAA men's volleyball champions
Year, winner Runner-Up Score 2002, Hawaii Pepperdine 3-1 2001, Brigham Young UCLA 3-0 2000, UCLA Ohio State 3-0 1999, Brigham Young Long Beach State 3-0 1998, UCLA Pepperdine 3-0 1997, Stanford UCLA 3-2 1996, UCLA Hawaii 3-2 1995, UCLA Penn State 3-0 1994, Penn State UCLA 3-2 1993, UCLA CSU Northridge 3-0 1992, Pepperdine Stanford 3-0 1991, Long Beach St. Southern Cal 3-1 1990, Southern Cal Long Beach State 3-1 1989, UCLA Stanford 3-1 1988, Southern Cal UC Santa Barbara 3-2 1987, UCLA Southern Cal 3-0 1986, Pepperdine Southern Cal 3-2 1985, Pepperdine Southern Cal 3-1 1984, UCLA Pepperdine 3-1 1983, UCLA Pepperdine 3-0 1982, UCLA Penn State 3-0 1981, UCLA Southern Cal 3-2 1980, Southern Cal UCLA 3-1 1979, UCLA Southern Cal 3-1 1978, Pepperdine UCLA 3-2 1977, Southern Cal Ohio State 3-1 1976, UCLA Pepperdine 3-0 1975, UCLA UC Santa Barbara 3-1 1974, UCLA UC Santa Barbara 3-2 1973, San Diego St. Long Beach State 3-1 1972, UCLA San Diego State 3-2 1971, UCLA UC Santa Barbara 3-0 1970, UCLA Long Beach State 3-0
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