UH owns No. 2 CSUN
POSTED: Sunday, February 01, 2009
There was nothing that a little success wouldn't cure.
Just like that, Hawaii has gone from winless in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation to doubling up No. 2 Cal State Northridge.
Led by sophomore Joshua Walker's season-best 19 kills and a redemption match from freshman Steven Hunt (15 kills), the 12th-ranked Warriors bounced the Matadors 30-26, 21-30, 32-30, 30-26. A Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 1,418 (2,345 tickets) saw Hawaii need 2 hours and 23 minutes to improve to 3-6 (2-4 MPSF) and hand CSUN (6-2, 3-2) its seventh straight loss in Honolulu.
“;If we had lost tonight, it would have proved that we were inconsistent,”; said Walker, who was in on four of the team's 17 blocks. “;We needed to prove to ourselves, our fans and everyone else that we could do this.
“;It was huge. We knew we were a good team; we just weren't winning. We proved we could do it.”;
Hawaii again got plenty of help from the CSUN servers, who committed 26 errors—eight by Tanner Nua and seven by Jacek Ratajczak. The one that hurt the most was by Kaleo Baxter (Kauai '05)—it landed just long to end the match.
Sophomore Brennon Dyer added 14 kills and 10 digs, while junior libero Ric Cervantes had a team-high 15 digs.
Senior hitter Eric Vance led the Matadors with 27 kills and 15 digs, and Nua finished with 15 kills.
The key last night was winning Set 3. Hawaii seemingly had things under control, with Walker's one-handed block of Nua pushing the Warriors' lead to 15-11. The Matadors inched back, knotting it at 17, the first of what would be 12 ties down the stretch.
Vance's 19th kill gave CSUN a swing at winning it, only to have Walker answer with his 15th. At 30-all, the teams traded points before Walker gave Hawaii its second chance at ending it; Hunt got a generous touch call on the block to win it.
In a virtual replay of Set 3, Hawaii again jumped ahead 15-11 and extended to 18-12 on Steven Grgas' second ace. Trailing 21-16, CSUN mounted its rally behind substitute setter Jeff Baxter, pulling to 22-21 and 26-24. This time, the Warriors did not bend, steadying out at the end.
For the second straight night, Hawaii outblocked CSUN, this time 17-10. Grgas was in on eight and Matt Rawson seven.
Hawaii doesn't play again until Feb. 12, when it heads to Long Beach State. The Warriors practice for five straight days starting tomorrow.
“;It's five straight days to get better,”; Dyer said.
Hawaii coach Mike Wilton said he was happier with last night's performance than the “;ugly one”; Friday.
“;Much better volleyball tonight,”; Wilton said. “;We were better, they were better.
“;It's a good break (from competition) because every day in the gym is another day we can get better.”;get better.”;
HAWAII DEF. CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE
30-26, 21-30, 32-30, 30-26
| Matadors (6-2, 3-2) |
||||||||||
| s | k | e | att | pct | d | bs | ba | pts |
||
| Nua | 4 | 15 | 8 | 35 | .200 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 16 |
|
| McKniff | 4 | 8 | 2 | 12 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 12.5 |
|
| Gaudino | 4 | 5 | 7 | 24 | .083 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 9.5 |
|
| Stork | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .000 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3.5 |
|
| Vance | 4 | 27 | 7 | 61 | .328 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
|
| Ratajczak | 4 | 11 | 3 | 22 | .364 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 15 |
|
| Baxter | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.5 |
|
| Keohohou | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
| Totals | 4 | 67 | 28 | 157 | .248 | 61 | 0 | 20 | 84
| |
| Warriors (3-6, 2-4) | ||||||||||
| s | k | e | att | pct | d | bs | ba | pts | ||
| Rawson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4.5 | |
| Grgas | 4 | 5 | 4 | 14 | .071 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 12 | |
| Hunt | 4 | 15 | 4 | 27 | .407 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 17 | |
| Carney | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -.333 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 2.5 | |
| Walker | 4 | 19 | 5 | 54 | .259 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 21 | |
| Dyer | 4 | 14 | 6 | 43 | .186 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 17 | |
| Clar | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Cervantes | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lofy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Strotman | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| China | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | 4 | 55 | 21 | 148 | .230 | 54 | 0 | 34 | 76 |
Key—s: sets played; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct: hitting percentage; d: digs; bs: block solo; ba: block assists; pts: points (kills + blocks + aces)
Aces—CS Northridge (7): McKniff 2, Gaudino 2, Ratajczak 2, Stork. Hawaii (4): Grgas 3, Rawson. Assists—CS Northridge (65): Stork 52, Baxter 10, Gaudino, Vance, Keohohou. Hawaii (51): Carney 48, Cervantes 3.
T—2:23. Officials—Dickson Chun, Ernie Ho. A—1,418.
MPSF STANDINGS
| W | L | Pct. | GB | W-L |
||
| Pepperdine | 5 | 0 | 1.000 | — | 6-0 |
|
| UC Irvine | 4 | 1 | .800 | 1 | 8-2 |
|
| BYU | 3 | 1 | .750 | 1 1/2 | 5-2 |
|
| CSU Northridge | 3 | 2 | .600 | 2 | 6-2 |
|
| Stanford | 3 | 2 | .600 | 2 | 7-3 |
|
| Long Beach State | 3 | 2 | .600 | 2 | 4-4 |
|
| USC | 2 | 1 | .667 | 2 | 5-2 |
|
| UCLA | 2 | 3 | .400 | 3 | 4-5 |
|
| Hawaii | 2 | 4 | .333 | 3 1/2 | 3-6 |
|
| UC San Diego | 1 | 4 | .200 | 4 | 3-5 |
|
| UC Santa Barbara | 1 | 4 | .200 | 4 | 3-5 |
|
| Pacific | 0 | 5 | .000 | 5 | 2-8 |
Last night
Hawaii def. CSU Northridge, 30-26, 21-30, 32-30, 30-26
BYU def. UC Santa Barbara, 29-31, 31-29, 15-30, 30-24, 15-8
Stanford def. UC San Diego, 30-25, 30-23, 28-30, 30-27
Long Beach State def. Pacific, 30-21, 30-28, 27-30, 30-28
Thursday
Stanford at UCLA
Pacific at UC Irvine
