Warriors spike Trojans

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

In a display of will and grace, the University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team dismissed Southern California, 30-22, 30-18, 30-20, in last night's opening round of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoffs.

Hawai'i's Costas Theocharidis spikes one past Southern California's Brook Billings in their first round Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match at Stan Sheriff Center. Theocharidis had 10 kills as UH beat USC in three games. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

But before 5,948 witnesses, the Warriors used the Stan Sheriff Center as their court of appeals, dominating every phase against short-handed USC. The Trojans' most productive player, outside hitter Eli Fairfield, quit the team last week.

"It was playoff intensity," UH middle blocker Brenton Davis said. "In the playoffs, you either step it up or you go home early."

Both teams had 34 kills, but the Trojans had more hitting errors (38 to 9) and the Warriors controlled the net.

UH's strategy was to turn the USC offense into a six-man scramble by serving to anyone but outside hitter Trevor Julian — libero Greg Burden appeared to be the favorite target — and then constructing a two- or three-blocker wall.

The Warriors amassed an astonishing 27 blocks, led by Dejan Miladinovic's 14. Six of the UH blocks did not come with assists. The Trojans had 5.5 blocks.

"Even when they fooled us, we did a pretty good job of one-on-one blocking, too," UH coach Mike Wilton said.

The Trojans couldn't find any open shots from the outside, and setter Miles McGann, in a dizzy haze from chasing errant passes, rarely delivered sets to the middle hitters.

"That really hurt us," Powers said.

USC All-America outside hitter Brook Billings, who once hit a volleyball so hard that it burst, was a bust. He had a match-high 13 kills, but was blocked seven times and made 17 hitting errors. One of the right-handed Billings' best shots was a left-handed swing. After the match, when he dejectedly rolled on his back, Billings finally found an open spot on the floor.

"He's a great player," Wilton said. "Maybe it was just our night."

With Fairfield in Los Angeles and Billings in a funk, USC's offense was caught between a rock and a hard-to-figure place. They rotated outside hitters, tried to serve between defenders and tracked UH outside hitter Costas Theocharidis. Nothing worked.

"They didn't have their whole team," Theocharidis said. "We didn't care. We wanted to come out and play our game. The good thing is, we showed emotion on the court. That's the way it has to be. If we don't want our season to end so early, we have to show emotion on the court and play well."

The Warriors eluded the USC block with accurate passes and Kimo Tuyay's quick sets. Davis, often drifting to the outside, launched several crossing shots. Outside hitter Torry Tukuafu found the mark often enough that the Warriors' best reserve, Tony Ching, was not summoned for the first time this season.

"We were aggressive on offense and defense," Miladinovic said. "We set a goal for ourselves to out-hustle them on defense and not to hit — what's the word? — long balls. That was the plan."

Said Davis: "Everybody was really focused. We're still having fun (during) each timeout. But when you're playing this well, it's pretty easy to keep a smile on your face."