Warrior volleyball team's title quest begins tonight
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Through the years, the University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team has enjoyed financial rewards and popularity.
UH is the only profitable men's volleyball program in the country, a direct result of being the nation's attendance leader.
But in sports, championships are the currency, and even the Warriors' wealth cannot fill their trophy case. The Warriors have never won a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title nor, in two attempts as an at-large team, an NCAA championship.
"It would be very good to get a championship," UH outside hitter Costas Theocharidis said. "That's why we're playing this sport."
The first step is tonight, when the second-ranked Warriors face No. 4 UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals of the MPSF Tournament in Malibu, Calif. Top-ranked Pepperdine serves as host to No. 3 Brigham Young in the other semifinal.
The winner of Saturday's championship earns the MPSF's automatic berth in next week's NCAA final four in University Park, Pa. As the strongest of the nation's three conferences, the MPSF also will receive the at-large berth. Pepperdine is all but guaranteed a berth in the final four, even if it does not win the MPSF tournament.
If UH and Pepperdine win tonight, the Warriors believe they will clinch the third final four appearance in the program's history.
"If we both win, we're both going," Theocharidis said. "That's automatic."
But first, the Warriors face a scrappy opponent. UC Santa Barbara is the only semifinalist to defeat Pepperdine this season. In last week's quarterfinals, the Gauchos, who entered as the No. 6 seed, upset third-seeded UCLA.
"I can count the number of times I've beaten them on one hand," Gaucho coach Ken Preston said of UCLA, an 18-time NCAA champion. "There was not one finger raised when we've beaten them with the money on the line. That's what made the win pretty fun."
But in helping his players re-enter Earth's atmosphere, Preston reminded them, "Hawai'i is better than (the Bruins). Hawai'i beat them twice."
Unlike the other semifinalists, the Gauchos will not practice at Pepperdine's Firestone Fieldhouse. This afternoon, the Gauchos will make the 90-minute drive to the Malibu campus.
"We're ready, we're mature and we have a good group of guys," Preston said.
Except for outside hitter Andy Rivera, who has emerged as the Gauchos' top threat, the offense is evenly distributed, making it difficult for opponents to key on one area.
"We won't set a guy 50 times," Preston said.
When the teams met in February, splitting the two-match series, the Warriors were without middle blocker Delano Thomas, who had remained in Honolulu to work on his studies, and outside hitter Tony Ching, who was recovering from walking pneumonia. Since then, both have become starters.
"But I'll tell you, (UH outside hitter Jose) Delgado had a great match against us," Preston said.
"That was kind of the conclusion, unfortunately," UH coach Mike Wilton said, noting Delgado played well in the next series against Cal State Northridge, but then spiraled into a prolonged slump.
Thomas has complemented Miladinovic in the middle. "He's a shot alternator," Wilton said of the 6-foot-7 Thomas. "And he's a very good server."
Last week, Wilton found a peaceful solution when he moved Eyal Zimet to opposite, where a hitter usually attacks from the right side, allowing Theocharidis and Ching to remain on the left side. Theocharidis and Ching both felt uncomfortable on the right side.
"Everything is fine now," Theocharidis said.
In preparation for playing on Firestone's wooden court, the Warriors practiced at UH's Gym I Monday. Yesterday, they had a spirited practice in Firestone Fieldhouse.
"I'm hopeful our minds will be in the moment," Wilton said. "I don't want them to worry about things that might happen or fretting about things that did happen. That's a concern with all coaches. I want them to be ready to get out on the court and play."
• Pepperdine vs. BYU
Both schools are conducting final examinations and graduation ceremonies this week, circumstances that made volleyball practices less than perfect.
BYU coach Carl McGown said he put a merciful end to Monday's practice because "it was so bad. There were guys studying until all hours of the night. This is a terrible time to hold the playoffs."
Pepperdine coach Marv Dunphy said he has not had a fully attended practice this week.
"We hope that when the whistle blows, we'll be ready to play," Dunphy said.
There won't be many rooting for the home team. Of Pepperdine's 2,500 students, 900 live on campus, and few stuck around after the semester ended yesterday.
"It'll be a ghost town," Dunphy said. "Everybody else will be gone."
BYU hopes to stick around through Saturday. Outside hitters Mike Wall and Joaquin Acosta have been steady, and freshman Carlos Moreno, who was named a starter two weeks after enrolling in January, has become an accomplished setter.
"When everything is said and done, one team is going to win and the rest are going to lose," McGown said. "Then you have to look back on what you have accomplished this season. We think we put together a nice season."
The Waves have had a dominant season, somewhat of a surprise after outside hitter Scott Wong and setter Keith Barnett completed their eligibility last year. "If I were to start a team, and I wanted somebody who does well in all parts of his game, I would start with Scott Wong," Dunphy said of the Punahou School graduate.
But Sean Rooney, the MPSF's Freshman of the Year, has led the Waves with 4.10 kills per game, and Beau Daniels is skilled enough to orchestrate one of the country's quickest offenses.
"Sean Rooney has played better than Scott Wong, and ... (Daniels) has been better than Barnett," McGown said. "(Daniels) serves very effectively and he sets a marvelous offense."
