Delgado spurs UH volleyball win
Advertiser Staff
After resolving concerns about his eligibility, University of Hawai'i freshman volleyball player Jose Delgado made sure there were no doubts about his ability.
Delgado slammed 19 kills and hit .552 in the Warriors' sweep of host UC Santa Barbara before 420 in Robertson Gym last night. The scores were 30-27, 30-26, 30-22.
"I told (setter) Kimo (Tuyay), 'Trust me tonight, I think I'm going to do pretty good,' " Delgado recalled.
Until late yesterday afternoon, it was unclear whether Delgado would be allowed to play. Monday afternoon, the NCAA asked UH to check into an Internet report that Delgado played for a professional team in his native Puerto Rico last summer.
Delgado told UH officials he played seven matches for Naranjito, but insisted he did not receive any money and that the team was only for amateurs.
An investigation led by Lewis University coach Dave Deuser, who also received the NCAA query involving one of his players who was a Naranjito member, determined that Naranjito was indeed an amateur team. Deuser said Vida de Porte officials, who designed Naranjito's Web site, incorrectly reported in an advertisement that Naranjito was a professional team. Vida de Porte printed a corrected version yesterday.
Supported by Lewis' findings, UH's general counsel recommended that Delgado be allowed to play last night.
"I was happy for Jose," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "His teammates were real happy. It's tough to have to go through something like that."
Said Delgado: "I knew I was going to play."
When the Warriors picked up on the Gauchos' game plan of defending the middle hitters, Tuyay knew he had to go outside to Delgado, Costas Theocharidis and Eyal Zimet. Early in the match, Delgado whispered to Tuyay, "Send me a lot of balls."
The Warriors used the minimum seven players, but all were magnificent. Theocharidis had 19 kills and Zimet added 13. Even against a sluggish UH block, the Gauchos struggled to find openings. The Warriors had 32 digs to the Gauchos' 18.
By the middle of the second game, Santa Barbara coach Ken Preston replaced setter Britt Galang.
UH improved to 13-3 overall and, at 10-1, remained atop the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The Gauchos are 13-6 and 9-6.
