Posted on: Saturday, January 19, 2002
VOLLEYBALL
Warriors outlast Lewis to face UCLA tonight
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Hawai'i's Brian Nordberg, Dejan Miladinovic and Kimo Tuyay celebrate a point in the fifth game against Lewis at Stan Sheriff Center.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser |
Down and seemingly out, the University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team parlayed its final lifeline into a surge that led to a pulsating five-game victory over Lewis (Ill.) last night in the Outrigger Hotels Invitational.
The scores were 29-31, 29-31, 31-29, 30-27, 15-12.
"It was a great, great win," said UH middle blocker Dejan Miladinovic, whose team will meet UCLA for the championship tonight.
Moments after Costas Theocharidis' buried the match's final point, Lewis opposite hitter Fabiano Barreto, acknowledging the match that became masterpiece theater, turned and applauded the 4,333 fans in the Stan Sheriff Center.
"Our team," UH outside hitter Eyal Zimet said, "has soul, spirit. I guess you can say we have a lot of heart."
The Warriors were all butterfingers early, playing with little emotion and even less defense. Barreto and freshman Gustavo Meyer repeatedly hit over, off and through the UH block.
After losing the first two games, Theocharidis admitted, "Of course, I was worried. Wouldn't you be worried? I was mad, too, especially with my performance. I figured out I have to step up and help the team."
At that stage, the Flyers believed they had reached new heights in the Sheriff Center. Then, the Warriors raised the roof.
Although freshman middle blocker Delano Thomas was effective, UH coach Mike Wilton decided to replace him with Brian Nordberg, a transfer from UC Santa Barbara.
"We just needed a little more ignition," Wilton said.
Said Nordberg: "That was the whole reason for me going in — to bring some energy."
Nordberg soon changed the mood on UH's side of the net. Nordberg, along with Miladinovic, obstructed Lewis' view of the hitting lanes. The Warriors had 10.5 blocks in the final three games to finish with 15.5.
What's more, the Warriors' defense became more active, with Zimet, Theocharidis and libero Vernon Podlewski scrambling for digs. Once, Zimet, with his right palm flat on the court, made a save with the back of his hand.
"They teach that in a school in Israel," Zimet said, smiling. "No, no, no. I was very fortunate."
The Flyers appeared frustrated, with their best shots doing little damage.
"Their defense was phenomenal," Lewis coach Dave Deuser said. "It seemed like we would demolish a ball and they'd stick out an arm and (the volleyball) would happen to pop up the right way. That's great defense. Give them credit. I don't think our level of play dropped at all. I think they just managed to really gut it out and pull through."
In turn, the defense sparked the offense.
"Some of our veteran guys, I thought, did a classic 'all we need to do is show up tonight,' " Wilton said. "Costas was conserving energy. He was swinging at about 60 percent. He heated up when he needed to."
"Oh, no," Theocharidis protested. "They used me as a decoy. But everybody played well. It was a team effort."
Theocharidis finished with 26 kills and two solo blocks. Freshman Jose Delgado, starting his second consecutive game in place of injured outside hitter Tony Ching, had 14 kills.
"We just got off to a crummy start," Wilton said. "I'm grateful these guys had the courage to get back into it. We didn't get back into it with execution. We started scrapping, and things started to fall into place. Confidence builds when somebody makes a scrappy play."
In a match between the nation's top-ranked men's volleyball teams, No. 2 UCLA powered past No. 1 Penn State, 38-36, 30-20, 33-31. The Nittany Lions (1-2) have not won a game in this tournament.
The Bruins again relied on redshirt freshman Jonathan Acosta, a 6-foot-4 outside hitter from Puerto Rico.
Acosta received a medical hardship after aggravating an abdominal muscle pull three times last season.
But for the second match in a row, Acosta led the Bruins in hitting, burying 17 kills (in 26 swings) and hitting .577.
"I feel very comfortable," said Acosta, whose stomach was treated with an ice pack after the match.
UCLA coach Al Scates said Acosta is a powerful hitter who can find the open seams. "He's a terminator," Scates said. "He has very explosive shots that are hard to dig."
