Volleyball Warriors at home in Cougar country
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
In its quest for a conference tournament title, the University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team went back to basics.
"We're in the boonies," said UH coach Mike Wilton, whose fourth-seeded team plays No. 1 Brigham Young tomorrow night in the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoffs.
Because of BYU's graduation ceremonies this weekend, there were no hotel rooms available in or near Provo, Utah.
The Warriors finally found lodging in Aspen Grove, a 23-minute drive from BYU's Smith Fieldhouse. They are staying in cabins usually reserved for the BYU alumni.
The area is picturesque, located near the resort town of Sundance, where actor Robert Redford sponsors an annual film festival.
Although the mercury was in the 70s yesterday afternoon, there was snow on the peaks of the Wasatch Mountain range.
"It's really, really nice," Wilton said.
But the cabins are spartan, and are not equipped with televisions or telephones. Wilton's cellular telephone does not have reception in Aspen Grove.
On road trips, the Warriors usually stay in hotels equipped with refrigerators in each room. No such luck in the cabins. After grocery shopping last night, the team left bottled juice and water in its two vans.
"At night, it'll be plenty cold enough," Wilton said.
The coaches had joked to the players that "they're fluffing the hay for us to sleep on and drying up the corn cobs for the rest room," Wilton said. "But, actually, it's really nice. It's a good place to get focused."
As a low seed, the Warriors believe the only way they will qualify for the NCAA final four is to win this tournament. The winners of the three conference tournaments earn an automatic berth; the at-large berth usually goes to an MPSF team.
BYU, ranked No. 1 nationally, is all but assured a berth. With second-seeded Long Beach State and No. 3 seed UCLA meeting in the other semifinal, and one of them guaranteed a berth in the final, it is unlikely that the Warriors could vault over either without winning the MPSF tournament.
"We need to win," Wilton said.
The Warriors spent most of last night's two-hour practice working on their serves. They will focus on how to defend BYU during today's two-hour practice.
"Everything is going smoothly," Wilton said.
The Warriors will receive at least one break. BYU has one of the most vocal crowds, made up largely of students. But today is the last day of final examinations, and BYU coach Carl McGown said, "a lot of the student body will have left town by (tomorrow) night. We'll be happy if we get a couple of thousand there."
Said Wilton: "The main concern is the other side of the net. We're playing BYU, not the crowd."
