Volleyball Warriors beat second-ranked Cardinal

Advertiser Staff

STANFORD, Calif. — The University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team overcame self-inflicted problems to produce a 36-34, 23-30, 30-23, 27-30, 15-12 victory over second-ranked Stanford tonight in Burnham Pavilion.

About 300 fans — half of them chanting, "Let's Go 'Bows!" — watched the fourth-ranked Warriors (4-2) win their Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener. The Cardinal fell to 5-2 and 4-2. The teams play again tomorrow.

"It always feels good to win," said UH outside hitter Costas Theocharidis, who had a match-high 33 kills. "And it's good to win the MPSF opener. Hopefully, we'll win all of them."

UH coach Mike Wilton said Theocharidis "played well. Everything he hit was poison."

Last night, the Warriors' greatest problems were found in the mirror. They struggled against Stanford's pinpoint serves and had difficulty passing to setter Kimo Tuyay. Eyal Zimet, usually the Warriors' most dependable passer, was victimized for six aces. Once, a Cardinal overpass landed between two Warriors.

"We had some passing woes," Wilton said. "But the good thing is we were able to right the ship against a good team."

In the first game, the Warriors squandered a 14-7 lead and could not convert on five serves at game point.

Middle blocker Brian Nordberg played well early, but then had difficulty connecting with Tuyay. "We were setting him a little bit low," Wilton said.

Freshman Delano Thomas replaced Nordberg late in the second game, and libero Jake Muise played the final two games in place of Vernon Podlewski.

Podlewski, who was selected to the MPSF all-star team last year, has struggled this season, and Wilton said he is considering a lineup change. "I'll spend a lot of time watching film, and after that, I have to make an educated decision," Wilton said.