Posted on: Sunday, April 28, 2002

UH awaits NCAA berth after losing MPSF title

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

A shot by Hawai'i's Delano Thomas is blocked by Pepperdine's Fred Winters, left, and Chris Van Reusen as UH's Kimo Tuyay looks on during the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation volleyball tournament championship match at Malibu, Calif. Associated Press

MALIBU, Calif. — The canyon drive leading to Pepperdine University is peppered with signs warning of slides.

Last night, the University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team went down that familiar road and, once again, slipped against top-ranked Pepperdine, 24-30, 30-25, 30-25, 30-27, in the title match of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament.

The Waves won the three meetings this year, all in Malibu.

With "We Are the Champions" blaring from the Firestone Fieldhouse speakers, the Warriors watched as the Pepperdine players passed around the MPSF trophy. In their 10 years in the MPSF, the Warriors have never won a conference tournament title.

"This was one of our goals, and we didn't make it, but we're not going to cry," said UH outside hitter Costas Theocharidis, spiking a folded towel. "We're going for the big fish."

Pepperdine earns the MPSF's automatic berth in the NCAA final four, which begins Thursday in University Park, Pa., but the second-ranked Warriors, silver medalists during the regular season and this tournament, believe they also have earned a berth, as the at-large team. The final four invitations will be announced today.

"There's no doubt we're going," said UH coach Mike Wilton, who predicted the Warriors will be seeded No. 2 and face host Penn State Thursday. Ball State also qualified by winning the Midwest title last night.

"The MPSF title would have been nice," UH middle blocker Dejan Miladinovic said. "But I'm chasing the NCAA title. I'm not chasing the MPSF title. My goal is still out there."

The Warriors could have ended the suspense by winning last night. But they could not elude the crush of the Waves' imposing blocks and blistering serves.

The Warriors won the first game, but the glitter came from fool's gold. The Waves made four service errors, were penalized twice for net violations and were burned three times on overpasses.

"Not to take anything away from Hawai'i, but we were hurting ourselves," Pepperdine setter Beau Daniels said. "We knew if we played our system, we would be OK."

It was 6-foot-8 middle blocker Brad Keenan, the MPSF's Player of the Year, who single-handed altered the direction of the match when he jump-served three consecutive aces to give the Waves a 6-1 lead in Game 2.

"It turned the match around and gave us momentum," Daniels said. "That's all we needed."

The Warriors were forced to improvise. Instead of receiving serves with two or three passers, they went with four — a defensive tactic that, in turn, slowed the tempo of their offense.

"We stepped back from taking risks," UH outside hitter Eyal Zimet said. "We let our pressure down, and they started to put pressure on us with their serves. Keenan made a difference."

Said Keenan: "I just go up and rip (a serve). If it goes in, it goes in. If it doesn't, it doesn't. I just go after it. I want to be aggressive."

Meanwhile, the Warriors had difficulty navigating the Waves' towering block. The 6-foot-5 Daniels, the setter, is taller than every UH outside hitter.

In recent matches, Theocharidis has been in a hitting slump. UH tried unsuccessfully to feed Theocharidis quick sets. Last night, Wilton asked Kimo Tuyay to set high, giving the 6-foot-3 Theocharidis more time to choose a hitting lane.

Early in the match, Theocharidis used a four-step takeoff and 38-inch vertical leap to launch easy kills. But the downside to a high set is it gives the defense more time to adjust. Theocharidis was rejected four times in Game 3.

Wilton defended the strategy, saying: "We weren't finding (Theocharidis) with the low set at all. At least with the high set, he had a chance to swing at the ball."

Said Theocharidis: "The high (set) makes you more predictable, plus they have really good middles. It was kind of hard for us because we're short guys."

UH tried to counter with isolation plays, using middle hitters Miladinovic and Delano Thomas as decoys, but the Waves were not fooled. Keenan, who has a 9-foot standing reach, amassed 11 blocks.

With UH trailing 12-10 in the third game, Tuyay was pulled. In the last two matches, the UH coaches were concerned that Tuyay sometimes misread an opponent's blocking scheme and also that he was setting awkwardly, a result of favoring his left hand.

"I thought he needed to come out and gather his bearings," Wilton said. "The car was off the road, and I wanted to get a new driver in there. It would be a good time for Kimo to clear his head a little bit."

Soon after, Theocharidis joined Tuyay on the sideline.

Both returned for Game 4, but the Warriors still had no answer to the Waves' serves and blocks. The Waves finished with eight aces.

"I don't think we played well," said Theocharidis, who had 17 kills but committed 11 errors. "We struggled passing-wise, hitting-wise, setting-wise, everything-wise. We served well in the first game. That's why we beat them. If you take them out of their system, that's what happens. But we didn't serve well the rest of the match, and that's why we lost."

Said Wilton: "It was a question of steadiness, and they kind of out-steadied us."

Pepperdine's Daniels said, "We just ran our system. We tried to dig a lot of shots and touch a lot of shots. That's what we've been doing all year."

The Waves, who won their 16th consecutive match, are seeking their fifth national title.

"Give them credit," Miladinovic said. "All season long they had the best record. They won the MPSF championship, and rightfully so. I hope we can play them again in the NCAAs. We proved we can play with them. Let's see what happens on a neutral court."

NOTES: No. 5 Penn State defeated No. 15 Rutgers-Newark 30-23, 19-30, 30-26, 26-30, 15-9 for the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association tournament championship. ... No. 8 Ball State defeated No. 9 Loyola-Chicago 30-17, 30-27, 30-19 for the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association tournament title.