Warriors seeking
changes in AprilSixth-ranked Hawaii lost
five of seven matches in March
They can only hope the March madness has ended. And that April means a return to success.
The Hawaii volleyball team lost five of its seven matches in March, as well as its No. 1 ranking. Now all the sixth-ranked Warriors want to do is stay in the top four of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and host a first-round playoff on April 24.
Long Beach St. at Hawaii
When: Tomorrow and Saturday, 7 p.m.
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
TV: Live, KFVE, Ch. 5
Radio: None
Tickets: $3-$14
Hawaii (13-7, 10-6) has six conference matches to break out of the three-way tie for the No. 4 spot, beginning with tomorrow's contest with No. 2 Long Beach State (2-14, 14-3). The Warriors are tied with Pepperdine and Cal State Northridge at 10-6 and "the issue is to play at home," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "You want to stay top four, but what you really want to do is keep getting better and play your best starting April 24."
The top eight teams make the tournament, with Nos. 1-4 hosting. The highest remaining seed hosts the MPSF Tournament April 29-May 1, with the winner advancing to the NCAA Championships at the Stan Sheriff Center on May 6-8.
"We really need to win these two," Warrior hitter Matt Bender said. "The feeling that I get after last Saturday (a sweep of California Baptist) is that we could beat anybody. I really do. It's not going to be easy. If we come out firing away, with that same intensity, with the same skill and leadership, we're a force to be reckoned with."
But so is Long Beach State, which had a very successful March. The 49ers went 7-0, including a sweep of UCLA and a 3-2 win over Pepperdine.
The Beach has not lost since being swept at UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 27. The other losses came in five games -- against Northridge at the UCSB Tournament and twice against top-ranked BYU.
The 49ers have already clinched a spot in the MPSF Tournament. They, too, just want to continue getting better.
"Our success is really no secret," said 49ers coach Alan Knipe, a member of the Beach's 1991 NCAA championship team. "Our guys have been real good in our gym for the great majority of the season. That makes you play well in matches.
"I feel our guys set their goals high and have been working extremely hard to achieve those goals. The most important match is the next one on your schedule. For us, it's UH."
Who the 49ers will see on the other side of the net is not set. Sophomore middle Mauli'a LaBarre, aggravating his ankle sprain in Tuesday's practice, was back on the court yesterday "but wobbly," said Warrior coach Mike Wilton. "We'll see how practice goes (today)."
Should LaBarre be unable to start, Wilton said he would not move Delano Thomas back from the outside as he did in Friday's loss to Cal Baptist. Instead, sophomore Dio Dante would make his first start in the middle, leaving Thomas on the left side, where he put down a career-high 23 kills in Saturday's win over the Lancers.
Senior Kimo Tuyay will again start at setter and Bender again at opposite, where the latter has replaced Pedro Azenha. Ryan Woodward is the other outside hitter.
"We know Hawaii is a very well-trained, talented team," Knipe said. "We expect them to play very well and use a number of players. They have shown that they have good depth at all positions.
"The only thing that we can control is how we prepare and how we play."
The Warriors will face a tall, veteran 49er team that rarely beats itself. They'll also see a team with some payback in mind -- Hawaii has defeated the Beach the last four times, including twice last season at The Pyramid and in 2002 when the Warriors ended the 49ers' season in the first round of the MPSF playoffs.
The Beach has two outstanding senior hitters in 6-7 Scott Touzinsky (4.51 kpg) and 6-5 Jeff Wootton (3.53 kpg). Last month, Wootton became the 13th player in 49er history to reach 1,000 kills; he had 25 kills and hit .656 in Saturday's sweep of Stanford.
Senior 6-8 middle David Lee, a club teammate of Tuyay's in San Diego, is third on the team in kills (2.65 kpg) and No. 1 in blocks (1.55 bpg).
The setter is 6-4 sophomore Tyler Hildebrand, the MPSF Freshman of the Year and AVCA Newcomer of the Year last season. Hildebrand, who played club ball in Arizona with Bender, is second in the country in assists (14.17 apg).
"We've got to out-steady them," Wilton said of the Beach. "It will be a serve and pass game. They've got three guys who can really bring it (Touzinsky, Hildebrand and Nathan Hagstrom have a combined 68 aces). We need to serve and pass well and make sure they don't.
"What I'm hoping for is that we have a crowd who will be real loud."
On Tuesday, the Warriors had some pretty loud cheers prior to practice when seven of the players received their invitations to the April 27 scholar-athlete breakfast. Josh Stanhiser, Ryan Woodward, Jake Muise, Jose Delgado, Eric Kalima, Bender and Tuyay all had at least a 3.0 grade-point average last semester.
"A free breakfast is always good," Bender said.
But the players might have to miss it ... and they would gladly do so. Barring any upsets, BYU would be hosting the MPSF Tournament and the Warriors would be in Provo, Utah, continuing their season.
