Warriors
take over
Irvine

The loudest chants tomorrow in the Bren Events Center likely won't be "Zot, zot" from the UC Irvine fans.

It is expected to be "Let's go, 'Bows." Because when Hawaii volleyball teams travel to the mainland, UH fans usually outnumber those of the home team.

It happens on a regular basis for both the Rainbow Wahine and Warriors. In anticipation of the season's largest crowd, UCI officials have moved tomorrow's match between the No. 4 Warriors and No. 11 Anteaters from Crawford Hall (seating for 750) to Bren (4,984).

"It's really great to go on the road and see people supporting us," junior hitter Matt Bender said. "A lot of times, we have larger crowds than the 'home' team and I feel bad for them.

"It makes it more fun for us. The first time (on the road), I was surprised by the amount of fans who showed up for us. Now, I'm used to seeing a lot of green shirts."

The Warriors (4-1, 2-0) arrived yesterday in Los Angeles. They'll practice today in preparation for their Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matches tomorrow and Saturday against the Anteaters (3-5, 1-2).

UCI coach John Speraw was looking forward to having his young team go against the more-seasoned Warriors. The Anteaters, with no seniors and three juniors on the roster, have started three freshmen most matches.

"We are exceptionally young," Speraw said, "but we compete very well and have improved dramatically even over the course of three short weeks. I think some of these young guys have a chance to be very, very good.

"(Freshman Jon) Steller has been one of those guys. I was trying to redshirt him this year, but he was simply too good. He was dominating practice some days. We needed his arm on the court."

Steller, a 6-foot-7 hitter, had 14 kills in Tuesday's sweep of Princeton.

"To be quite honest, with all of our youth, I am still very much focused on our side of the ball," Speraw said. "The serving-passing game will be huge for us against Hawaii. They have several guys who can serve very tough. If we can pass at a high level and then serve tough enough ourselves to get them in some trouble, we can win.

"I think Hawaii is an exceptionally well-balanced team. They have good ball control, a great setter, great high-ball hitting with (Pedro) Azenha and Bender, and two solid middles. It is tough to find any weaknesses."

Note: Tomorrow's match is available for free via UCI's Webcast at www.athletics.uci.edu. Link to the men's volleyball page to watch live.