By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Under the Stan Sheriff Center’s aluminum dome last night, the University of Hawai‘i recycled the untamed power of its middle block into a 30-25, 30-18, 30-19 men’s volleyball rout of Cal State Northridge.
The match officially ended in 90 minutes, although it was all but decided early. Only television timeouts and a 10-minute intermission between the second and third games extended the match.
UH outside hitter Costas Theocharidis, in an expanded role, hammered 14 kills (in 21 swings) and hit .524. But it was the men in the middle - blockers Brenton Davis and Dejan Miladinovic - who set the tone.
Davis had eight kills and assisted on six of the Warriors’ 12.5 blocks. Miladinovic contributed six kills, one block solo and five block assists. Neither player made a hitting error.
Davis and Miladinovic also helped solved the confounding Joe Nargi, Northridge’s free-flowing outside hitter. Never hitting from the same spot, or with the same style, Nargi had 10 kills in the first game. Then he ran into the UH wall, amassing four kills in each of the next two games.
"He was all over the place," UH coach Mike Wilton said of Nargi. "But then we made some adjustments."
After that, UH outside hitter Eyal Zimet said, "it was pretty much a party."
The Warriors were able to consistently set to the middle, as Davis and Miladinovic took whacks at the Northridge defense.
"We kind of knew, coming in, they were kind of weak in the middle," Davis said. "We knew we could pretty much do what we wanted to do. Their block wasn’t as solid or as formidable as some of the (blocks) we’ve faced so far this season."
When it came time to respond, the Matadors whiffed. They had only one kill from their middle - Ross Horn’s slam, in the second game - and amassed four blocks.
While the Matadors’ serve was strong, it wasn’t as strong as the Warriors’. UH had 10 aces, including three by setter Kimo Tuyay.
Seven UH service errors and a yellow card, which was worth a Northridge point, made the third game’s score respectable.
UH opposite Torry Tukuafu did not play because of a bruised left retina suffered during Tuesday’s practice. Wilton said he should be available for tomorrow night’s rematch.
Without Tukuafu, who receives the majority of the back-row sets, the Warriors turned to Theocharidis.
"We asked Costas to step up," Wilton said.
Theocharidis, who was slowed by a sore right (hitting) arm, welcomed the challenge. "I’m feeling much better," said Theocharidis, who claims to be 90 percent healed from tendinitis in his right elbow, biceps and shoulder.
"I have to take on a bigger role," he added. "I don’t want us to lose another (match). I will be very mad if we lose another (match)."
The seventh-ranked Warriors improved to 7-2 overall and 3-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The Matadors, ranked No. 13, fell to 3-7 and 0-5.
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE
G K E A Pct. BS BA D A
Baxter 3 1 1 2 .000 1 1 3 0
Ozkaya 3 7 7 18 .000 1 1 4 2
Douglas 3 0 2 4 -.500 0 1 0 0
Denlhan 3 0 1 3 -.333 0 0 0 0
Walter 3 6 8 20 -.100 0 0 5 2
Nargi 3 18 9 33 .273 0 0 1 0
White 3 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0
Horn 3 1 1 2 .000 0 1 0 0
English 3 0 0 0 - 0 0 5 0
Totals 33 29 82 .049 2 4 18 4
HAWAI‘I
G K E A Pct. BS BA D A
Miladinovic 3 6 0 12 .500 1 5 0 2
Tuyay 3 2 0 2 1.00 0 2 2 3
Zimet 3 5 3 9 .222 0 1 2 2
Theocharidis 3 14 3 21 .524 0 4 3 1
Davis 3 8 0 12 .667 0 6 0 1
Ching 3 7 4 19 .158 0 5 1 1
Podlewski 3 0 0 0 - 0 0 9 0
Totals 42 10 75 .427 1 23 17 10
CS-NORTHRIDGE (3-7, 0-5 MPSF) 25 18 19
HAWAI‘I (7-2, 3-1 MPSF) 30 30 30
Team blocks - CSN 4, Hawai‘i 12.5. Assist leaders - CSN 32 (Baxter 30), Hawai‘i 40 (Tuyay 36). Time - 1:30. Att. -2,855.
Key - G: Games. K-E-A: Kills-Errors-Attempts. Pct.: Hitting percentage (Kills minus errors divided by attempts). BS: Block solo. BA: Block assist. D: Dig. A: Ace.
WATER POLO
 Wahine win opener: University of Hawai‘i freshman Joanne Ansell scored three goals as the Wahine opened the season with an 11-9 victory over Princeton at Princeton, N.J.
Hawai‘i has won all four of its season openers.
Wahine senior Amy Morrow added two goals, and junior goalie Christa Tackaberry made five saves.
Hawai‘i faces Brown tomorrow on the first day of the Princeton Tournament. The Wahine will also play Indiana, Michigan and Hartwick (N.Y.) College during the two-day tournament.
[back to top] |
