UH to volleyball final four

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

LOS ANGELES — After a mildly anxious night, the University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team yesterday received an invitation to compete as the at-large team in this week's NCAA final four tournament in University Park, Pa.

Later, Wilton said: "I wasn't nervous. I believed beyond any shadow of doubt we were going to get the berth."

The Warriors earned the No. 2 seed and will meet host Penn State in Thursday's semifinals. Top-ranked Pepperdine will face Ball State in the other semifinal.

In Saturday's title match of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament, the Warriors lost to Pepperdine, which claimed the conference's berth in the final four. But the second-ranked Warriors believed they were deserving of the at-large berth based on their runner-up finish in the country's best conference.

Brigham Young, which finished fourth in the MPSF and was ousted in the tournament semifinals, and Loyola-Chicago, which lost in the Midwest finals, lobbied for the at-large berth. But based on the criteria sent to member schools, UH had the advantage in schedule and quality victories.

"I didn't actually see any other team that could get in but us," outside hitter Eyal Zimet said. "It would not be right to give it to anybody else."

The players were given a free day yesterday, and Wilton contemplated announcing the invitation during a scheduled meeting last night. Instead, he asked athletic trainer Michelle Landis, who serves as the team's surrogate guardian, to spread the news.

"She knows how to reach everybody," Wilton said. "There's telephone, telegraph and 'tell Michelle.' "

Landis immediately told outside hitter Costas Theocharidis. "I'm excited," Theocharidis said. "It's nice to get some respect. I look forward to playing the matches."

Last summer, Wilton accepted a standing invitation to play two exhibition matches at Penn State. The Warriors and Nittany Lions split the series in November, but Wilton said: "It gave us a chance to get used to the court and their fans, just in case we had a chance to make it to the final four. If we got that chance, it would be, 'been there, done that.' Now we know what the gym is like and what we can expect."

The Warriors depart this morning, and will begin practicing tomorrow. UH president Evan Dobelle and athletic director Hugh Yoshida already have booked reservations.

"We're glad we're in the tournament," Wilton said. "It's a great accomplishment for any team to advance out of the West region."