By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
In need of a new look, the University of Hawai‘i men’s volleyball team applied more of what it calls its "Grecian Formula."
"We went to our go-to guy," UH setter Kimo Tuyay said of outside hitter Costas Theocharidis, who powered the way in a 30-25, 30-28, 30-25 victory over fifth-ranked Stanford last night.
In beating a higher-ranked opponent for the first time this season, the No. 6 Warriors improved to 10-3 overall and 6-2 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Eight of their victories have been three-game sweeps.
The Cardinal fell to 8-3 and 5-3.
Tonight’s rematch in the Stan Sheriff Center will not count in the MPSF standings.
Before 4,586 last night, many screeching at every UH swing, Theocharidis seized control. He had a season-high 26 kills and hit .458, with only four errors in 48 swings. He assisted on eight of the Warriors’ 11.5 blocks. And he made four diving saves to extend rallies.
"The light was on," UH outside hitter Eyal Zimet said of Theocharidis. "The light was in the house. Costas was in the house."
Before their previous two matches, the Warriors shifted the focus of the offense to Theocharidis, designing sets for him at all six rotations. But the plan was put on hold when Theocharidis missed both matches because of food poisoning.
Now healthy, Theocharidis was ready to accept the larger role.
"I want the ball," he said.
Said Tuyay: "It was a big game, so we had to go to our big hitter, and Costas is our big hitter."
Tuyay played with a badly bruised left index finger, which was padded with foam and braced with tape. "I didn’t worry about the pain," Tuyay said. "I just try to throw it outside and let Costas put it away. I know if I set it to him, he’ll get the job done."
‘It was Costas’ match’
The 6-foot-2 Theocharidis buried shots from every which angle. Sometimes he fearlessly attacked double blocks, sometimes he pushed shots into vacant areas.
"I felt really comfortable," Theocharidis said. "I felt strong."
In a pick-your-poison decision, Stanford chose to protect the middle, hoping the Warriors would tire of continuously feeding Theocharidis on the outside.
"We didn’t expect them to set him as much as they did," Stanford coach Ruben Nieves said. "I hadn’t seen that from Hawai‘i before. That surprised us a lot. They set him all of the time. They had opportunities to go to other hitters in good situations, and they kept going to Costas. But when you have a guy hitting over .400 and taking that many swings, you can get away with it."
Stanford offered its own surprise. Setter Brad Griffith started the first two games in place of Josh Lukens, who entered as the nation’s assist leader. Griffith, who is fully recovered from preseason knee surgery, is believed to be a better floor leader. What’s more, the 6-foot-5 Griffith provides a more imposing block than the 6-2 Lukens.
"How many assists you have in a game doesn’t mean anything to me," Nieves said. "It’s not a very meaningful statistic. It’s how you play and it’s how successful the team is with you setting. That’s what’s important to me."
Still, none of that mattered. Last night, Tuyay said, "It was Costas’ match."
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