No. 2 Waves roll past Warriors

Advertiser Staff

Controlling the ebb and flow of the match, No. 2 ranked Pepperdine claimed a 30-26, 30-28, 26-30, 30-26 volleyball victory over No. 3 Hawai'i last night before 875 in the Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.

In winning their seventh consecutive match, the Waves improved to 19-4 overall and 14-2 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, further distancing themselves from the third-place Warriors (15-5, 12-3). UCLA, the nation's top-ranked team, leads the MPSF.

The Warriors focused on middle blocker Brad Keenan, a creative hitter who finds openings off of slide steps. Instead, the Waves went outside to freshman Sean Rooney, who pounded 22 kills and hit .645. Rooney made two hitting errors in 31 swings.

The Warriors also had difficulty handling the Waves' powerful jump serves. UH's sloppy passes led to predictable sets. The Waves then were able to overwhelm UH outside hitters Eyal Zimet and Jose Delgado. In turn, the Warriors often floated serves, and "they just bombed us," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "They wore us down, I think."

The Warriors blew leads in each of the first three games, including four six-point leads in Game 2, the last at 13-7. Wilton scrambled for answers, replacing Delgado and then Zimet.

The only respite came in Game 3, when UH's Costas Theocharidis, angered by taunts from Pepperdine's Lance Walker, had to be restrained by teammates. UH scored five of the final six points of that game, but never led in Game 4.

Wilton said he might change the lineup for tonight's rematch. "I'll reserve the right to sleep on this, although I don't know how much sleep I'll get," he said.