UCLA defeats road-weary UH in four
Advertiser Staff
Last night's checkout on Cloud 9 was at 9:05 Pacific Time.
The second-ranked University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team could not match the euphoric performance of the previous night in a 30-25, 30-27, 20-30, 30-27 loss to third-ranked UCLA in Los Angeles.
On Thursday night, the Warriors outlasted the Bruins in five games for their first victory in Pauley Pavilion since Feb. 13, 1983. But in the rematch, the reconstructed UCLA block proved to be too great an obstacle for the road-weary Warriors.
"It was UCLA's night," UH coach Mike Wilton said after the match, the Warriors' third in as many nights. "Tomorrow is another day."
Wilton said a victory in tonight's rematch at UC Irvine — UH won there on Wednesday night — "would make this a very, very successful road trip."
It certainly would help the Warriors forget last night's match in which the taller Bruins amassed 18.5 blocks. The average height of a Bruin attacker is 6 feet 7à; the Warriors' tallest player, middle blocker Dejan Miladinovic, is 6-7.
"We found them pretty good," Wilton said of UCLA's blocks.
On Thursday night, the Warriors were able to elude the Bruin block by passing and setting quickly. But last night, the Bruins short-circuited those plans with strong serves that forced the Warriors to scramble.
Wilton admitted the Warriors were fatigued emotionally. "Right now, the guys are tired and disappointed," he said.
The frustration was evident when two Warriors and two Bruins yelled across the net in the second game. In the third game, UH vehemently protested when a touch was called even though outside hitter Costas Theocharidis clearly allowed a UCLA shot to sail out of bounds.
Wilton said the Warriors often rally after poor calls or when they are "backed against the wall." But, Wilton said, "That's not Hawai'i's plan of attack" — and UH did not answer back last night.
Matt Komer led the Bruins with 15 kills and two aces. UCLA's Adam Naeve, a two-time All-American middle blocker who sat out last year to try out for the national team, had 14 kills and assisted on nine blocks.
Theocharidis had 21 kills, but nine hitting errors for UH.
The Warriors, who fell to 16-4 overall and 11-3 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, already clinched a berth in the MPSF playoffs. The Bruins are 18-6 and 10-4.
