UH hitter to play in pain
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Despite constant pain in his left shin, University of Hawai'i outside hitter Eyal Zimet vowed to play against Southern California on Saturday night in the opening round of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men's volleyball playoffs in the Stan Sheriff Center.
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"It's too much fun to miss," Zimet said yesterday.
Zimet has had pain in his left shin for more than a month, and X-rays Monday showed a bone stress in the area, said Dr. Andrew Nichols, the team physician.
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Zimet is expected to undergo magnetic resonance imaging, a procedure that uses magnetic fields to produce pictures of the body's interior.
"It's too much fun to miss," said Eyal Zimet.
But Nichols said the MRI findings will not likely change Zimet's rehabilitation of rest and calcium tablets.
Nichols said Zimet could be suffering from a bone bruise to a "true fracture. That's the spectrum. I suspect it's somewhere in the middle."
Zimet said his left shin is "pretty sore constantly." But, he added, "If it's only pain, I can handle it. I will play."
Said Nichols: "He's having pain, certainly, when he jumps. It's improving slightly with rest. If he were playing a match every single day, there's no doubt (the condition) would be worse. At worst, right now, he's holding steady."
First Round, Saturday No. 5 Southern California (13-8, 10-7) at No. 4 Hawai'i (17-6, 12-5) No. 8 UC Irvine (13-12, 8-9) at No. 1 Brigham Young (20-3, 14-3) No. 7 Pepperdine (14-8, 9-8) at No. 2 Long Beach State (17-6, 12-5) No. 6 Stanford (14-8, 10-7) at No. 3 UCLA (20-7, 12-5)
The 6-foot-2 Zimet is considered the Warriors' best server and an accurate passer.
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"He's the engine of the team, he's the captain of the ship," outside hitter Costas Theocharidis said of Zimet. "I think his situation is really bad now. We'll try to help him out."
Middle blocker Brenton Davis said that "every time (Zimet) steps back (to serve), he has a chance to make a run for us. He's got a lot of crafty serves."
UH coach Mike Wilton said Zimet is "just an unflappable force out there. We have a lot of guys who play with emotion. He has a quiet fire. He's a good source of calm during the storm of competition."
In related news, UH was ranked second in both the Volleyball Monthly and USA Today/AVCA polls announced yesterday. After being awarded the fourth seed for the MPSF playoffs following a controversial tie-breaking formula, Wilton said the No. 2 ranking is vindication.
"I thought it was appropriate," he said.
