[ VOLLEYBALL ]
Hawaii's Pedro Azenha averaged 3.92 kills and had 53 aces this season in earning second-team All-America honors.
UH’s Azenha
receives honor
The Hawaii men's volleyball team isn't in this week's NCAA Championship, but the Warriors were represented on the All-America team announced yesterday.
Sophomore outside hitter Pedro Azenha was named to the 10-player second team, becoming the 21st UH player to earn All-America honors. Azenha averaged 3.92 kills and had 53 aces this season, one off the school's single-season mark.
"It's a wonderful honor for him," said Warrior coach Mike Wilton, attending the NCAA banquet last night at the Outrigger Reef Hotel.
"I was expecting someone from our team to get something, but I didn't know who it would be," said Azenha. "I'm honored and I hope to do better next year. But I would rather that our team be in the final four than me getting this award."
Six players on the first team and three players on the second team are involved in today's national semifinals. Top-ranked Brigham Young had four players honored, including National Player of the Year Carlos Moreno.
The junior setter had the Cougar offense hitting at .363, third-best nationally. He ranked second in the country in assist average (14.09 apg) and was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Year.
"It is well-deserved," said BYU coach Tom Peterson. "Carlos has been great, and he's gotten better and better."
"I have to say that this is about my hitters and my passers," said Moreno, a second-team selection last season. "I can set anyone on our team"
Joining Moreno on the first team was Cougar senior Fernando Pessoa, who switched from libero to outside hitter this year. He led BYU with 4.10 kills per game, hitting .364.
Cougar sophomore middle Victor Batista and senior hitter Joe Hillman were named to the second team.
No. 2 Long Beach State has three players on the first team -- sophomore setter Tyler Hildebrand, senior middle David Lee and senior Scott Touzinsky. Hildebrand was the only sophomore named to the first team, which had five seniors and four juniors.
The 49ers will take on Penn State in tonight's first semifinal at 6. The Nittany Lions had junior middle Keith Kowal, who led the country in hitting percentage (.578), on the first team and senior libero Ricky Mattei on the second team for the second time in three years.
Also on the first team were Pepperdine's Sean Rooney, a junior hitter, and senior hitter Fred Winters; UCLA's senior libero Adam Shrader; and Matt Zbyszewski, a junior hitter from IPFW.
Other second-team players were UC Santa Barbara hitter Evan Patak, also named the Newcomer of the Year; UC Irvine senior hitter Jimmy Pelzel; UCLA senior middle Chris Pena; and Ball State senior setter Keith Schunzel. Cal State Northridge had two players selected in senior setter Ty Tramblie and sophomore middle Brian Waite.
"I'm very pleased with the All-American team," said Penn State Mark Pavlik, who chairs the nine-member selection committee. "It's one of the best groups I've ever chaired. There is no hidden agenda. There's real good discussion and good decisions made."
Personal repeat: Alan Knipe is seeking to become the second coach to win the NCAA title as a player and a coach. The first was Rob Wilde, who played on Pepperdine's 1978 national-championship team and coached the Waves to the title in 1985.
Knipe was a junior blocker on The Beach team that won the 1991 championship at Blaisdell Arena against USC. Knipe had 16 kills and eight blocks in being named to the all-tournament team.
"Thirteen years ... it seems like a long time ago and it doesn't," said Knipe. "It's a different game now, especially with the rally scoring.
"Our team was a dig-and-sideout team. We could weather storms and wear teams down. You can't do that now. This year's team can score real points on blocks and serves."
By the numbers: For the third season in a row, Touzinsky leads Long Beach State in aces. He has 36 this season, bringing his school record to 152. Penn State's Kowal (.575) and Nate Meerstein (.516) rank 1-2 in national hitting percentage.
Lewis is seeking to become only the third school to repeat as NCAA champions. Pepperdine did it in 1985-86 and UCLA has done it four times (1970-72, 1974-76, 1981-84 and 1995-96).
BYU has four starters who are married: Pessoa, Hillman, senior hitter Jonathan Alleman and senior libero Shawn Olmstead. Pessoa's wife is Megan Shupe, a BYU gymnast.
"The wives take it hard when we lose," said Alleman. "I know I don't want to make her cry again."
Short sets: If the Cougars win the title, Tom Peterson would become the first coach to earn NCAA championships at two different schools. He coached Penn State to the 1994 title ... Kowal's sister Kristy was a silver medalist in swimming at the 2002 Olympic Games. ... Olmstead's father, Rich, played at Church College of Hawaii (now BYU-Hawaii). His sisters also played collegiate volleyball, Laci at BYU and Heather at Utah State. ... Hildebrand didn't start playing volleyball until his junior year in high school. ... Lewis is expected to have three players from Hawaii on its roster next season: setter Sean Carney and libero Mike Contee from Iolani and Punahou hitter Mikey China.
