[ WARRIOR VOLLEYBALL ]
RONEN ZILBERMAN / RZILBERMAN@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Delano Thomas tried to hit past the block of Lewis' Fabiano Barreto during the Outrigger Invitational last night.
Lewis taps Hawaii pipeline
Mainland universities have come to mine Hawaii's high school volleyball talent before. Defending national champion Lewis is no different; only now the Flyers are getting more than just a nibble from local players.
The Flyers signed Iolani all-state setter Sean Carney last fall and Lewis coach Dave Deuser hopes for more Hawaii kids in the future.
"I hope this will turn into some kind of a pipeline," Deuser said. "Sean is the first guy from Hawaii I've ever offered, signed and actually recruited. If he comes and has a good experience, that helps our image in the minds of Hawaii players."
It also helps that Deuser was given a recruiting allowance of $3,000 by the university, whereas he had no recruiting budget before.
Winning doesn't just help bring in athletes. Applications to the university located in Romeoville, Ill., (population 21,153) have increased by 38 percent. The school brought in its largest freshman class last fall and saw an increase of 20 percent in freshman enrollment. The university credits the Flyers' national title with having an impact.
"The university attributes a large part of that to the exposure we got from winning the national championship," Deuser said. "They're very happy. I think they realize what a successful athletics program can do (for putting a school on the map)."
Can't wait to be back: The NCAA final four committee was impressed with Hawaii during its site visit over the weekend. The committee observes final four sites annually before the NCAA championship, which Hawaii hosts this year May 6-8.
"This has been spectacular. With the tournament going on, it mimics a lot of what we would see," said Penn State assistant athletic director Bob Krimmel, who is a member of the NCAA tournament's final four committee. "We've been very impressed. The facilities, the job that Hawaii has done with their staff in being prepared and organized for the championship.
"The main focus of the championship is to make it a memorable experience for the student-athletes. There's no doubt we're happy being here. I can hardly wait to come back."
Any previous questions about Hawaii's ability to host in light of being stripped of its 2002 national title have been put to rest.
"The committee never had any desire not to come to Hawaii," Krimmel added. "All we did was ask Hawaii if this wasn't a good time to do it. ...
"From what we've seen, I wouldn't want to follow them (as the next host school)."
Meerstein wall: Penn State middle blocker Nate Meerstein worked his way into the Outrigger record books yesterday when he broke the tournament record for blocks. The redshirt sophomore had 11 stuffs yesterday for a three-match total of 24. The previous record was held by Lewis' Paul Aviles, who had 20 rejections in the 1999 Outrigger Invitational.
Meerstein had 17 total blocks going into Game 4 of yesterday's 3-1 loss to Manitoba. He had an astounding seven roofs in the Nittany Lions' final game and was a big part of holding the Bisons to just a .133 hitting percentage in the game. Meerstein had nearly half of Penn State's blocks as the Nittany Lions outblocked Manitoba 22 1/2 to 14.
"Meerstein is just learning how to balance out (the peaks and valleys) of the game," Penn State coach Mark Pavlik said. "He's going to be a good one for us."
Wade headed to Russia: Rainbow Wahine associate head coach Charlie Wade will leave Tuesday for Russia, where he will be a consultant to the Samorodok volleyball club, which recently signed outside hitter Lily Kahumoku and middle blocker Lauren Duggins off the 2003 Wahine squad. Wade and his wife, Tani, will return Jan. 22. While in Khabarovsk, Wade will evaluate the Russian Volleyball Federation, as well as look for potential recruits.
Hawaii has one scholarship remaining for the 2004 season. Head coach Dave Shoji has said he would use it only if he could obtain a player who would make an immediate impact.
"We're always looking for players who could help us immediately," Wade said. "With international players, there's always a matter of how quickly they can take the (entrance) tests and get the paperwork done."
Wade has been contacted by UNLV and Oklahoma about head-coaching vacancies. Wade has been with the Wahine program for eight years, the last three as associate head coach.
If he were to take the UNLV job, he would replace former Hawaii All-American Deitre Collins, who resigned last month after eight seasons with the Rebels and an 89-136 record. There is also a Hawaii connection with the Oklahoma position. Kalani Mahi, a Kamehameha Schools graduate, resigned last month after four years with the Sooners (27-94).
"Anything that would help me in the long run professionally I will seriously look at," Wade said. "UNLV has shown the most interest. Oklahoma is a BCS school and big-time athletics."
Star-Bulletin writer Cindy Luis contributed to this report.
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[ MERCEDES CHAMPIONSHIPS ]
Clarke nails an eagle
to stay in the hunt
KAPALUA, Maui >> Darren Clarke wasn't exactly making a move up the leaderboard during yesterday's third round of the $5.3 million Mercedes Championships.
Opening the day at 10 under, Clarke birdied the difficult first, then managed eight pars to make the turn six shots off the pace. He birdied No. 10, but gave it right back at 11 and then continued another nondescript round through the fairway at No. 17.
Then something magical happened for the man best known for beating Tiger Woods at the 2000 Match Play Championship. Using an 8-iron from 174 yards away, Clarke holed it out for an eagle, then birdied No. 18 to shoot 69 for the day. It left him alone in fourth, some six shots off the pace set by leader Stuart Appleby.
"I just hit it pin high left and it spun in there," Clarke said. "I was thinking go close so I only have to tap it in. I missed it from everywhere today. I was just hoping it would be somewhere close so I wouldn't have to think about it much."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Darren Clarke smiled at his caddie after making an eagle from the fairway on the 17th hole yesterday during the Mercedes Championships. Clarke is in fourth place at 14 under.
This is Clarke's first appearance at the Mercedes since it moved to the Plantation Course in 1999. He was eligible to play here in 2001, but didn't come due to a family illness. And while it's unlikely he will overtake Appleby during today's final round, Clarke has acquitted himself well here so far.
"I had 33 putts for the day and was 4-under-par, so that's a lot of putts," Clarke said. "So that's something I have to work on (today). I'm very pleased with the way I'm hitting it. It will be tough to catch the guys in front of me."
Clarke continues to go smokeless since New Year's Day. He has lost 30-something pounds since making his well-documented life change. Beer is also no longer a part of the equation.
"I think the way I played toward the end of November and early December, you couldn't really describe as playing," Clarke said of the rounds he played entering this winners-only event. "I participated is about as far as I would go.
"I got home after Tiger's event, put the club glove in the garage, didn't look at it until I was leaving to come over here. I opened the bag, there was mold and everything over the bag, head covers. I had to change those. I had a complete breakaway, which has been good."
Appleby in the lead: This is the third time in Appleby's career that he has held the lead heading into the final round. The Aussie led by one over Payne Stewart at the 1997 Honda Classic. His closing 71 was good for a one-stroke victory, his first on the PGA Tour.
Last year at the Las Vegas Invitational, Appleby held a one-shot lead after 72 holes of the 90-hole event. His closing 69 placed him in a playoff with Scott McCarron, whom he defeated with a birdie on the first extra hole.
Campbell goes low: Chad Campbell didn't catch a lot of attention because he entered the third round so far off the pace. Tied for 25th after 36 holes, the 2003 Tour Championship winner fashioned an 8-under 65 to move up 10 spots to 15th.
Along the way, Campbell became the first player this year to manage two eagles in one round. His first came on the par-4 sixth. He drove to just the right of the green on the 398-yard hole, then chipped it in from about 34 feet away. The second was at the par-5 18th, one of five for the tournament.
Ninth now easiest: The Kona winds have made the par-5 ninth the easiest hole of the tournament this week. Normally a difficult driving hole when the trades are sweeping across the Plantation Course, the 521-yard hole has surrendered 54 birdies and three eagles for a scoring average of 4.356. There have been only two bogies so far.
The most difficult hole is the par-3 second. Usually an easy hole when the trades are at the players' backs, it's proved troublesome for the golfers so far this week. There have been only four birdies and 31 bogeys for a scoring average of 3.322. The first hole has slipped to No. 2 the past couple of days with a scoring average of 4.311. There have been seven birdies, 22 bogeys, five doubles and one triple.
