DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii coach Mike Wilton did a "warrior dance" during Senior Night festivities after yesterday's sweep of Southern California.
UH says aloha It was a farewell ceremony fit for Warriors going into battle.
with sweep
Four seniors close out home
A senior night like no other
careers by beating USCBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comFrom the performance of the national anthem and Hawaii Pono'i by Jake Shimabukuro to the haka led by Vili "the Warrior" Fehoko following the match, seniors Costas Theocharidis, Brian Nordberg, Tony Ching and Eyal Zimet were feted from start to finish.
Even Hawaii coach Mike Wilton got involved in the post-match dancing in front of a thunderous crowd of 6,212 at the Stan Sheriff Center. The celebratory atmosphere began even before the second-ranked Warriors defeated the USC Trojans 32-30, 30-23, 30-22.
The Warriors conclude Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play at 23-5 and 17-5. USC ends the season at 6-25 and 2-20. The real struggle will be next week in the first round of the playoffs. The Warriors will be the No. 3 seed in the tournament.
Hawaii finished tied for second with BYU, but the Cougars have the advantage in the tiebreaker system and will be the second-seeded team. The Warriors face sixth-seeded Pacific on Saturday at 7 p.m. Top-seeded Pepperdine will host eighth-seeded Long Beach State and could host the MPSF championship if they win.
Wilton said his dance was "from the heart" and even admitted to shedding a few tears as he watched his seniors being honored.
"I felt a blend of great joy and happiness for them for what they've accomplished and the example they've set," Wilton said. "I don't want to say that we played great, but we were good when we had to be and we were absolutely fired up."
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Tony Ching danced with Linda Fehoko, Vili's wife, last night. Brian Nordberg, Eyal Zimet and Costas Theocharidis looked on.
The intensity showed in Nordberg, who hit a phenomenal .667 with 12 kills and no errors. Nordberg was the only senior on the court as Zimet, Theocharidis and Ching exited the match in Game 3. He was presented with a saran-wrap lei by his mother, Kathy, following the match.
"It's definitely not over for us," Nordberg said. "It was awesome. I didn't want my parents to pay all the money to come out because they're coming for graduation. I'm so glad they came out. I couldn't have shared this with anyone more special."
Special describes this year's seniors, who exited the match to standing ovations. They posed for pictures with the flags from each of their respective countries or states (Israel, Greece, Hawaii and Wisconsin).
Theocharidis (12 kills, one ace) wasn't sure he would be able to contain his emotions, and the tears flowed from his eyes as he tried to cover his face with his hand.
"I had to let my emotions go," Theocharidis said. "I wish my parents were here, but I had an image of them in my mind. It's been four great years. We kind of developed as brothers with those guys (Ching, Zimet and Nordberg). I'll miss them. We're great friends."
Theocharidis wasn't the only one who couldn't stop the tear ducts. Ching (nine kills, eight digs) rubbed his eyes and hugged his parents.
"It was like I came full circle tonight," said the walk-on from Kamehameha who overcame many injuries over the course of his career.
The seniors pointed to each other and set each other up during the match. Ching blasted a serve and Zimet crushed the overpass for Hawaii's first lead of Game 1 at 15-14. The Warriors would never trail again in the game and reached game point first. But the Trojans would extend the game, scoring four straight off two aces by Miles McGann and a kill by Mark Dusharme to tie the game at 29. But USC would hurt its own cause, making three errors in the final four points to give the game back to Hawaii.
Hawaii steamrolled USC to start Game 2, racing out to a 7-2 lead off a kill by Nordberg. The Warriors kept the Trojans at arm's length the rest of the match and had a 20-11 lead in Game 3 before cruising the rest of the way.
Zimet led Hawaii again with 14 kills on .600 hitting. Trojan senior Dusharme blasted 14 kills and three aces to lead USC.
Notes: Middle blocker Delano Thomas was in street clothes yesterday. Thomas complained of a sore back to UH coaches on Friday and did not play. Junior Josh Stanhiser started in his place and had three kills. ...Trainer Michelle Landis was also honored following the match. ...Former Warrior and national team member Clay Stanley watched the match.
Hawaii def. USC
32-30, 30-23, 30-22Trojans (6-25, 2-20 MPSF)
g k e att pct. bs ba d Otte 3 8 6 20 .100 0 2 9 Grangeiro 3 7 6 21 .048 0 2 10 Dusharme 3 14 5 31 .290 0 1 4 Day 3 6 0 12 .500 0 3 1 McGann 3 3 1 10 .200 0 2 4 Small 3 4 2 13 .154 0 1 0 Peterson 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Gallagher 1 1 0 4 .250 0 0 0 Burden 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 8 McKniff 1 0 0 1 .000 0 0 0 Totals 3 43 20 112 .205 0 11 36 Warriors (23-5, 17-5 mpsf)
g k e att pct. bs ba d Tuyay 3 2 0 3 .667 0 3 8 Zimet 3 14 2 20 .600 0 0 8 Theocharidis 3 12 4 32 .250 0 0 6 Ching 3 9 6 27 .111 0 1 8 Nordberg 3 12 0 18 .667 1 1 1 Stanhiser 3 3 1 6 .333 0 3 1 Muise 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 11 Jeschke 1 1 0 1 1.000 0 0 0 Azenha 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Bender 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Totals 3 53 13 107 .374 1 8 43 Key -- g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
Aces -- USC (6): Dusharme 3, McGann 2, Day. Hawaii (2): Zimet, Theocharidis.
Assists -- USC (43): McGann 39, Otte 2, Grangeiro, Small. Hawaii (50): Tuyay 42, Nordberg 3, Ching 2, Zimet 2, Stanhiser.
T -- 1:44. Officials -- Dan Hironaka, Wayne Lee. A -- 6,212.
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DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
UH seniors Tony Ching, Brian Nordberg, Costas Theocharidis and Eyal Zimet were wrapped in their respective flags last night.
Only in Hawaii would the crowd be asked to sing "Happy Birthday" to a team trainer (Michelle Landis). A senior night
like no otherBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comOr an assistant coach who hasn't played since 1997 be signing autographs (Aaron Wilton).
As for fans walking in with boxes of plastic wrap? Don't even ask.
And there's only one thing that would ever be able to snuff out the permeating smell of garlic fries in the Stan Sheriff Center. That would be the scent of the hundreds of leis to be given to the Hawaii men's volleyball team on the last night of the regular season.
Ninety-four days ago, the Warriors opened the year with a sweep of Lewis. Last night, Hawaii celebrated Senior Night with a sweep of Southern California, 32-30, 20-23, 30-22. Even Warriors coach Mike Wilton got into the act, joining in the post-match Polynesian dancing.
The UH senior Gang of Four made the most of their evening in front of family and a larger-than-announced crowd of 6,212 (8,281 tickets). They finished it buried under leis, embracing each other and displaying the flags of Greece, Israel, Wisconsin and Hawaii.
Costas Theocharidis (Greece) continued to make a case for a second National Player of the Year award in three years. He put down 12 kills, many coming when his team needed them the most.
Eyal Zimet (Israel) was well over halfway to his career high in kills after just Game 1 with seven. He finished with 14, tying his season high set on Friday, three off his career best.
Brian Nordberg (Wisconsin) repaid the dozens who imitated his plastic headband with a career-high 12 kills, not committing a hitting error in 18 swings. His most memorable kill of the night was the one that knocked over Trojan libero Evan Burden and helped Hawaii pull away in Game 2 at 12-6.
And for Tony Ching (Hawaii), the only local starter, it was a particularly emotional night for Hawaii's emotional leader. He had nine kills and eight digs.
"It was very emotional," said Ching, who performed hula, including the difficult nene walk across the court. "Hopefully, there's a few more games for me. It's beginning to hit me, but it hasn't hit me yet."
Said Zimet: "Tonight was beyond my expectations. It's more than what I dreamed it would be. But it's not over yet."
Hawaii will host Pacific on Saturday in the first round of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoffs.
Last night, the four seniors made their presence known throughout the 1 hour and 44 minutes of the match. They combined for six consecutive points to push UH to a 28-25 lead in Game 1 with Ching finally serving for the win at 32-30.
Ching and Nordberg were in on consecutive blocks in Game 2 that led to the Warriors jumping out to a 25-18 lead. After the Trojans had pulled to 25-22, Ching put down two kills in a row to give the Warriors breathing room; UH finished it off with a 3-1 run.
The Trojans, very vocal in their displeasure with some of the calls made by officials, were silenced by the quiet Zimet in Game 3. At 14-9, a spectacular dig by Ching set up a back-row kill by Zimet.
Zimet added another tip from the back row, then a service ace to push the lead to 17-9. By the time Zimet went back to serve again at 26-17, Hawaii was well on its way to its 10th sweep of the year, and its 13th consecutive victory.
Wilton slowly began to sub out his seniors, with each receiving a standing ovation. The party, which included more than an hour of autograph signing, was just starting.
"I'm so glad we came," said Nordberg's mother, Kathy, who flew in with husband Richard from Milwaukee. "We almost didn't make it. I had no idea it would be like this, and I would have been very upset if I had stayed home and missed this.
"We go to Senior Night at Marquette for basketball, but it's nothing like this."
Note: Josh Day, Ching's teammate from Kamehameha Schools, finished his career at Southern California last night with six kills, hitting .500, with three block assists. The three Trojan seniors were also honored last night: Day, Mark Dusharme and Miles McGann.
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