Warriors step Sometimes it's good to ignore the old adage that if it isn't broken, you don't need to fix it.
into Cougar country
No. 2 Hawaii travels to No. 4 BYU
for two big conference matchesBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comHawaii coach Mike Wilton was reluctant to tweak the Warrior volleyball team's lineup, since the previous rotation produced a national title last year.
But the second-ranked Warriors have been consistently inconsistent lately in their play. Since starting the season with five straight wins, Hawaii has split every Mountain Pacific Sports Federation series with the exception of Long Beach State. Part of the Warriors' results can be attributed to parity in the league, but Hawaii hasn't been able to put together two solid outings in a row. They Warriors can come out smoking hot the first night and dead flat the next, or vice versa.
It's unlikely Hawaii (9-3, 5-3) will get to mount much of a win streak this week with two conference matches at No. 4 Brigham Young (8-2, 8-2) tomorrow and Friday. Both matches start at 4 p.m. Hawaii time.
"It's going to be a heck of a match. They're a good team. They've got balance," Wilton said. "They have a real good athletic setter. He makes a lot happen. They run people all over the place with their offense. You've got to really pay attention to what they do. It should be a wonderful match.
"I think we could win two. I think we could lose two. It all depends on what's going on upstairs. If we bring it both nights then it'll be real good for us. It's a real good opportunity for us to play here. They have the largest amount of noisy fans and that's good. That's what everybody that plays dreams of. If you're any kind of player at all, that brings out the best in you."
It won't be easy to come away with two wins. The Cougars get amped easily in Smith Fieldhouse. BYU owns a 14-11 lead in the series, but more telling is the Cougar's 9-2 record against Hawaii at home. Except for a loss to UC Santa Barbara last weekend, BYU has been consistently beating opponents this season.
But the Warriors' new lineup will give them an edge in just about every aspect of the game. If you missed the debut last week, don't worry; they don't plan on shelving it anytime soon, not with the results they got.
Hawaii hit 100 points above its season average of .368 and nearly every player hit .300 or better in the three-game sweep of Cal State Northridge.
The rotation helps Hawaii resolve some of its issues with playing time and health. With Eyal Zimet playing libero, the Warriors are a much more consistent passing and ball-handling team, and there's less pressure on Zimet's often ailing back, since he's neither hitting or blocking.
The new lineup also works freshman Pedro Azenha in at opposite. Azenha brings some definite heat with his swing and is a valuable third option in the offense.
"Being a libero is a lot less stressful on (Eyal's) body," Wilton said. "Pedro can play and Eyal can sure play libero real good.
"There was some nice chemistry and we're just scratching the surface with that thing. The more we do it, the better we'll get at it. That's my belief."
And it helps that the player most affected by the change believes, too.
Before last Friday's match against Cal State Northridge, associate coach Tino Reyes sat down and talked with Zimet about the possibility of his new role becoming a permanent one.
"I asked him if it was OK," Reyes said. "He said 'I'll do anything to help the team.' I hugged him and said 'thanks.' "
Zimet said he was a little thrown off by Reyes' sudden display of affection, but agreed that changing positions could be in the best interest of the team.
"I think it's a winning lineup and as long as it stays that way, that's good," Zimet said. "I'm definitely going to miss hitting. It seems like I'm going to be a little bit less involved, that I'm contributing less in my eyes. I know it's not true. As long as it helps the team win, that's the ultimate goal. The rest is kind of minor.
"It's a different role. I didn't really play it before. The game looks different to me. It's a little bit harder because you're always in and out of the game. You have to talk yourself into concentrating all the time. You're like a train, going in and out, in and out of the station."
Notes: Friday's match has been moved to the 22,700-seat Marriott Center to accommodate a larger crowd. The Cougars are hoping to break the NCAA single-match attendance record of 14,156 set in 1999 against the Warriors. ... Libero Jake Muise is one of the 12 players on the travel roster. Junior Arri Jeshke did not make the trip. ... BYU setter Carlos Moreno is a former Brazilian Junior National teammate of Azenha. ... Wilton briefly considered the BYU head coaching vacancy last May but says he has no regrets about sticking with Hawaii.
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