Posted on: Saturday, October 20, 2001

Warrior volleyball team eases past alumni

By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Quick as you can say "rally scoring," the 2001-02 University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team dispatched its alumni in an exhibition match last night at Stan Sheriff Center.

Led by electrifying newcomer Brian Nordberg, the Warriors beat the Rainbows 30-25, 30-16, 30-28, in less than an hour and a half.

Nordberg, a 6-foot-5 junior middle blocker, slammed down 16 kills. Junior Costas Theocharidis had 10 kills, eight digs and five blocks, and freshman Jose Delgado added nine kills for the varsity team.

Aaron Wilton led the alumni with 12 kills, five digs and three blocks. Troy Hotz and Sivan Leoni combined for 15 kills.

"It probably showed that we've only been practicing for three weeks," said head coach Mike Wilton. "We had some good moments where we played some pretty good volleyball."

Wilton said he was especially happy with the play of freshmen Delano Thomas, a 6-7 middle blocker, and 6-2 Daniel Rasay.

But it was Nordberg, a transfer from UC Santa Barbara, who thrilled the crowd of 887.

After a hard-fought Warrior win in the first game, Nordberg dominated the second with eight kills, two block assists and a service ace.

With the Warriors already leading 23-12, Nordberg hung in the air, casually surveyed a high set by Rasay, hung awhile longer, then slammed a vicious kill into the heart of the alumni defense. He helped score the next point by teaming with Eyal Zimet to stuff Hotz at the net.

"The guy can play," Wilton said. "It was a great get for us for him to transfer to UH. He sets a great example. He makes himself available every possible time. He just works and works and works."

Alumni coach Malu Sagiao said Nordberg should be a major contributor to an already solid team.

"He's very deceptive," Sagiao said. "You look at him, he doesn't look very quick but he put some balls down tonight. We couldn't stop him in the middle if we tried."

In the third game, Sagiao inserted himself into the lineup at setter and led the team to an early 10-4 advantage.

The alumni held their advantage through much of the game as Aaron Wilton matched Zimet and Delgado kill for kill.

Theocharidis' right side kill following a pair of hands-to-the-floorboards digs by his teammates capped the best rally of the night and brought the game to a 24-24 tie. The Warriors then took the lead on a step-in kill by junior outside hitter Jeff Gleason. Sophomore outside hitter Jake Muise capped the game-ending 7-1 run with a left-side kill.

"They're very impressive at this early stage," said Sagiao. "I expect them to do better than they did last year."

The Warriors' first real test will come on Nov. 2 and 3 when they play a pair of road matches against Penn State, this year's Final Four host.

Nordberg said he's hoping for a return trip at the end of the season.

"That's one of the reasons why I came here," he said. "I think as long as we put in the work, we'll be in a good spot at the beginning of May."