Reft sets digs mark in sweep of UOP

STOCKTON, Calif. » Alfred Reft hugged his aunt, then posed with his teammates for a picture.

His wide smile of satisfaction came after an easy victory in which he set a career milestone.

Hawaii    Pacific 3 0 Next Up vs. Pacific, tomorrow

The University of Hawaii's senior libero had four digs and surpassed Allen Allen atop the school's all-time digs list in a 30-27, 30-19, 30-23 victory over the University of the Pacific in front of 325 fans last night at Spanos Center. The teams will meet again tomorrow at 5 p.m., then the Warriors will travel to Stanford on Wednesday and Thursday to face the Cardinal.

"I try not to pay too much attention to statistics, but it's definitely nice," said Reft, who had family and friends from his hometown of Oxnard, Calif., watching in the stands. "It's a tribute to my teammates and coaches. The things they do, the blockers, it's all because of them. They do a fine job putting up good blocks for me to dig balls."

Reft tied Allen's career mark of 739 digs with his second dig in Game 1. He broke the record with one dig in the second game, and added to it with one more in Game 3. Reft was persuaded by Pacific coach Joe Wortmann to keep a game ball following the match.

"With all of the prestige and the great players that have come through UH, it's a nice accolade to have," Reft said. "It's a good feeling to be with some of the great defensive players in Hawaii history."

The No. 3 Warriors (16-4, 12-3 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) had plenty to feel good about after winning their 12th consecutive match in dominant fashion over the No. 14 Tigers (7-14, 5-10), who had won two in a row entering yesterday's match.

Hawaii setter Brian Beckwith spread the workload among his attackers. Jose Delgado and Dio Dante each had 10 kills to lead the Warriors, and Matt Carere and Maulia La Barre had nine each.

"I was just trying to move the ball around as usual and keep them guessing," said Beckwith, who had 45 assists. "I saw that opening down the middle and decided to exploit it until they stopped it."

Hawaii started slowly in the first game and fell behind 16-12 following an attack error by Dante. The Warriors regrouped and scored five unanswered points on four unforced errors by the Tigers and a kill by Delgado. The score was tied at 20 when Dante sparked a 10-7 run with a kill.

"We got going there at the end of the first game and started cutting down on our errors," Beckwith said. "Then our control of the pace of the game really showed in the second and third games."

Hawaii opened the second game with a 5-0 run and never took its foot off the throttle. Beckwith's smart sets and blasts by Hakala from the right side helped the Warriors take a 28-17 lead.

"We were in a hole and that wasn't good, and I don't know if that was carryover or not," Wortmann said. "We were just erratic and Mitch (Hazelett) would be the first to tell that his sets were erratic, so it became very difficult for the hitters."

La Barre had two kills, Hakala had one, and the pair combined on a block to give Hawaii a 4-0 lead to start Game 3. Again, the Tigers weren't able to climb out of the hole. Beckwith found success setting La Barre in the middle, and when Pacific adjusted, Hakala and Jim Clar were open outside.

"In the first game, it was a combination of good UOP serving and we didn't pass the ball so well," Warriors coach Mike Wilton said. "We shored that up pretty well and that allowed us to play a steadier brand of volleyball."

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