[ WARRIOR VOLLEYBALL ]
UH’s NAIA opponent
is big, old, excitingCal Baptist comes to town ranked
No. 1 in its division and having
just beaten UCSB
It is a stunning statistic: No blocks in a men's volleyball match.
"That's ridiculous," said Hawaii senior Jake Muise. "I've never heard of that happening."
And yet it did Tuesday night when visiting Cal Baptist, the top-ranked team in the NAIA, swept NCAA Division I UC Santa Barbara 30-19, 30-27, 30-24. The Lancers out-blocked the seventh-ranked Gauchos 10-0 in a match that lasted 99 minutes.
Cal Baptist at Hawaii
When: Tomorrow-Saturday, 7 p.m.
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
TV: Live, KFVE (Ch. 5)
Radio: Live, KKEA 1420-AM
Series: First meeting
"I spoke with (UCSB coach) Kenny Preston this morning," Hawaii coach Mike Wilton said yesterday. "He said some of his team didn't show up. And that, even if they had, he doesn't know if they would have won.
"He said they started to play better in Game 2, but you can't just turn it on and off like that and expect to win. And they (Cal Baptist) are big, athletic and good."
No. 5 Hawaii (13-7) will get two chances to see what the Lancers (16-2) are all about tomorrow and Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center, the first meetings between the schools. After dropping the first two matches of the season -- to NCAA teams Long Beach State and UC Irvine -- Cal Baptist has won its last 16, including wins over Lewis, USC and Princeton.
The Lancers feature a tall, veteran roster with an international flavor. Their starters include 6-foot-11 Artur Kusio (Poland); two Ghana National Team members, 6-5 Shamsu Awudu and 6-2 Seidu Ajanako; and 6-8 Sergio Rose, who played with Hawaii's Pedro Azenha at the club level and on the Brazilian Junior National Team.
Junior hitter Shaun Dyk, a 6-10 opposite, is from North Carolina. He had 18 kills and no errors on 23 attempts, hitting .783 against UCSB, and was in on five of the team's 10 blocks.
Due to the NAIA's more lenient policy on age, Cal Baptist has a definite advantage there. Ajanako, listed as a sophomore, is 26; Awudu, a freshman, is 24; Kusio, a senior, is 27.
Hawaii plans to start the same lineup as it did against BYU last weekend ... maybe.
Ankle injuries to middle Mauli'a LaBarre and outside hitter Arri Jeschke again had the Warriors moving things around at yesterday's practice. Delano Thomas, suspended for last week's matches, has replaced LaBarre, moving from outside to the middle position he played the past two seasons.
Muise, last season's starting libero, has replaced Jeschke. The 6-foot Muise spelled Jeschke briefly against BYU on Saturday.
"It's interesting being in the front row again," said Muise. "I haven't played (outside) in two years and it's a learning curve to get back into it. My body has to adjust, but it is so much fun.
"I'll do anything to help the team. It doesn't matter how. The front row is a different perspective when you're as small as me and Arri (6-0) are. It shows some people in the nation that little people can play."
The Warriors were to look at films of the Lancers prior to this morning's practice. They'll see a team that hit .494 against the Gauchos, including .619 in Game 3.
"Coach is harping on that they are humongous," said Muise. "He's saying they've got 2-3 guys that people should show up early to see them warm up. They've got guys that bounce the ball 15-20 rows up.
"Whether that comes through in a game, we'll see. This will be good for us. We definitely don't need to play a team that's going to lay over for us. We need to play a team that wants to beat the crap out of us."
Notes: The Cal Baptist roster includes junior hitter/libero Brennan Velasco, second on the team in digs with 60. The 1997 Pearl City High graduate is the grandson of Pete Velasco, the captain of the 1964 U.S. Olympic volleyball team ... Waimea High senior Jeremy McDown, a 6-foot-6 middle, has committed to play for Cal Baptist next season ... Ajanako was the MVP of last year's NAIA National Tournament, leading Park (Mo.) University to the championship, before transferring to Cal Baptist.
