[ RAINBOW VOLLEYBALL ]
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
UH volleyball player Pedro Azenha hit the ball against UC San Diego's Kevin Keyser in Wednesday's match.
UH seeking sweep
of Tritons
Rally scoring has changed collegiate volleyball so much that even what used to be considered a minor error now translates into a point for the other team.
Witness Hawaii's "hukilau" mistakes. On Wednesday, the Warriors were called for six net violations in the first two games against UC San Diego, unforced errors that cost Hawaii a point each time.
MPSF volleyball
Who: No. 15 UC San Diego (4-3, 2-2) at No. 4 Hawaii (3-2, 2-1)When: 7 tonight
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
TV: Live, KFVE (Ch. 5)
Radio: Live updates on KKEA (1420-AM)
Series: Hawaii leads 30-0
It didn't matter Wednesday as the Warriors kept their unbeaten string against the Tritons alive at 30-0. But it could come into play when the teams meet again at 7 tonight at the Stan Sheriff Center.
"There's a few things I wanted to work on in practice," Hawaii coach Mike Wilton said. "I'd like us to run the middle better. We can certainly pass better than we did. And we need to stay out of the net better. It was like trampoline practice out there, banging against the net when there was no reason."
No. 4 Hawaii knows that tonight's rematch will be tougher than Wednesday's 30-25, 30-22, 30-25 sweep of No. 15 UCSD. Although the Warriors have a 30-0 edge in the series and have dropped just nine sets to the Tritons since 1980, every night in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation is an adventure, as well as a potential upset.
"I think some of our guys had a hard time controlling their emotions in front of a big crowd," said UCSD coach Ron Larsen, referring to Wednesday's announced turnstile crowd of 2,730. "We have a lot of players who are making their first trip to Hawaii and I know our guys didn't play close to their potential."
It's pretty much the norm for visiting teams, which might see more fans in one night at the Sheriff Center than during the rest of the season combined. UCSD came into Wednesday's match averaging 225 fans a night, including 102 in the Tritons' win over Princeton on Monday.
"I'm sure it's a little imposing," said Warrior assistant coach Aaron Wilton, who played for the Warriors from 1994 to 1997. "Our arena is a very welcoming environment, but I'm sure the sheer numbers get to some people.
"But most teams thrive on a big crowd. I don't remember a lot of teams coming in here and stinking it up. Our crowd is a roar and you just get used to it. There are places where you have only 100 fans, but they're right next to the court and you can hear every word that comes out of their mouth. That's a lot more difficult."
"I would imagine that the first time someone plays here, it would be different. They've acclimated and will definitely put up a fight (tonight)."
Shaking off the nerves is the least of the Tritons' worries. Their normally solid passing had problems all night against the Warriors, which didn't allow junior setter Nate Jones to run the middle attack as much as he would have liked.
Triton middles Kevin Keyser, Andy Rupp and Adam Rusch accounted for a combined seven kills in Wednesday's loss. UCSD had been getting an average of six-plus kills per game from the three.
Keyser had 11 kills and was in on 10 blocks in Saturday's upset of No. 6 Stanford.
"We didn't have the best passing night," said Larsen, whose team has already tied the school mark for most conference wins in a season with two.
Hawaii would like to run its middle attack more effectively as well. Senior blocker Josh Stanhiser was very productive when he got the ball, putting down seven kills on 11 swings with no errors, but sophomore Mauli'a LaBarre had only six swings, finishing with two kills.
"I would like to see us run the middle more," said Mike Wilton. "I want to become more consistent with our receive scoring. And that all starts with the pass.
"We can certainly pass better and we certainly can stay out of the net better. We need to stop trying to do too much when we block so that we aren't like fish at the hukilau getting all caught up in the net."
