Hawaii beats UOP in
opening exhibition
The Hawaii Warriors rallied from a first-game loss to defeat Pacific 24-30, 30-25, 30-25, 30-28 in a men's volleyball exhibition match last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
"It was an adventure. We looked nervous, but settled down to make a good match out of it," said UH coach Mike Wilton. "I think some of our guys pressed too hard."
Matt Bender, who led the Warriors with 16 kills, said, "It was preseason jitters and we weren't playing with our full lineup. We had to have time to get warmed up. It takes time to light a fire under everyone."
The Tigers had two early three-point spurts in the first game. The second run, on a kill by Saint Louis School graduate Brian Zodrow, Mitch Hazelett's kill on an overpass and Zodrow's ace gave Pacific a 10-5 lead. The Tigers, who outblocked Hawaii 8-0 in the game, maintained a 4- to 6-point lead the rest of the way and finished the game off with an ace down the line by Nils Dauburs.
The Tigers hit .333, while the Warriors were held to a .133 hitting percentage.
The Hawaii hitting percentage increased each game -- to .265, to .312, and to .414.
Only a point or two separated the teams in the second game until UH took a 19-15 lead with three straight points. Maulia La Barre spiked the ball off a middle set, Bender served an ace and Brian Beckwith hit off the Pacific block out of bounds.
The Tigers pulled within 25-24, but UH, with Jacob Schkud serving, got two kills from Lauri Hakala, an ace and a long hit by Mauricio Brizuela to go up 29-25, then won when Bryson Metz shanked a ball into the officials table.
It was part way through the second game that Wilton changed setters, bringing Beckwith in for Daniel Rasay.
"I think we needed to do that. That wasn't Danny out there. We needed someone calmer, someone to make better decisions. Brian came in and did a wonderful job."
"They are both amazing setters, so it doesn't matter who is running the offense. They make it easy for us," said Bender.
Beckwith, a sophomore from Pacific Palisades, Calif., went in with the instruction to get the middle attack going. It was nonexistent in the first game.
"The coaches stressed that so we could spread out our offense. It seemed to work," said Beckwith.
The Warriors never trailed in Game 3, taking a 15-8 lead on a kill by Matt Carere, who provided a spark at outside hitter when he entered midway through Game 2.
Ahead 23-20, the Warriors went on a 5-0 run. Schkud, Carere and Bender had kills, there was a wide Pacific hit and an ace by Beckwith. Carere put down the final kill.
"I liked the resolve tonight. They figured out a way to get back in it, to get loose, to stay calm and this is as good a UOP team as I've seen in quite awhile," said Wilton.
Zodrow led the Tigers with 22 kills. Kamehameha alum Bryson Metz followed with 11.
The teams play in Hilo today, on Molokai tomorrow and Kauai on Saturday.
