UH volleyball in the black

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

•	MPSF playoffs Quarterfinals Saturday night's results No. 2 Hawai'i def. No. 7 Long Beach State 3-0 No. 1 Pepperdine def. No. 8 Cal State-Northridge 3-0 No. 6 UC Santa Barbara def. No. 3 UCLA 3-2 No. 4 Brigham Young def. No. 5 Stanford 3-2 Semifinals Thursday At Malibu, Calif. Pepperdine (26-4) vs. Brigham Young (23-6), 2 p.m. HST Hawai'i (21-7) vs. UC Santa Barbara (18-10), 4:30 p.m. HST

"It's the only (men's volleyball) program in the country that makes a profit, and a nice one at that," Donovan said. "It allows us to continue to fund other areas of the department."

The Warriors' annual operating budget is $362,000. As of March 31, the Warriors earned $547,000 in ticket sales. Since then, the Warriors played four regular-season matches against traditional rivals UCLA and Brigham Young. (UH made only enough to cover expenses from last Saturday's playoff match against Long Beach State; the remaining money went to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.)

Of UH's 19 intercollegiate sports, only four are profitable. The others are football, men's basketball and women's volleyball.

"We're grateful we can help out," said Mike Wilton, who is completing his 10th season as the Warriors' head coach.

Wilton said he has tried to keep down expenses by recruiting selectively, seeking discounts on travel and lodging, and securing sponsorship deals.

Wilton said Local Motion provides jerseys, shorts, sweats and practice gear, saving the program more than $20,000 annually.

Wilton said Asics "supplies everything from the knees down." Asics provides each player knee pads, socks and four practice and game shoes. Wilton said Asics' sponsorship is valued at nearly $10,000 a year.

"I know Mike is very proud of his bottom-line accomplishments," Donovan said, adding, "as usual, he's developed another great team this year."

Wilton said for the amount the athletic department invests in the program, "the return is very good. It's a bullish market, I think."

Zimet honored: Outside hitter Eyal Zimet was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Week after leading the Warriors to a three-game victory over Long Beach State in an MPSF quarterfinal match Saturday. Zimet had 12 kills in 15 swings.

UH departs today for Malibu, Calif., where it will meet UC Santa Barbara in Thursday's semifinals.