Warriors sweep UC Irvine

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i's Jose Delgado slammed a kill past UC Irvine's Jimmy Pelzel in the Warriors' three-game sweep last night. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

A crowd of 3,549 watched the Warriors improve to 16-6 overall and 13-4 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, closing to two games behind co-leaders Pepperdine and UCLA. Those teams meet tonight in UCLA.

UC Irvine (11-13, 5-12), which beat Pepperdine and lost in five games to UCLA, often looks to 6-foot-8 middle hitter Erick Helenihi, who averages 8.2 swings per game. But the Warriors' well-placed serves led to erratic passes and forced the Anteaters to scramble to start their offense.

Helenihi took 12 swings — six each in the first and third games — and was never an offensive factor. Instead, setter David Kniffin turned to Jarrett Jensen on the outside.

"We'd rather deal with their outside," UH outside hitter Eyal Zimet said.

In setting up the double block on the outside, Zimet, Costas Theocharidis, Kimo Tuyay or Tony Ching defended the lines and middle blocker Dejan Miladinovic served as a 6-foot-7 obstacle against crossing shots.

"I'm surprised they didn't force more sets to (Helenihi)," said Miladinovic, who assisted on nine of the Warriors' 13 blocks. "He used to be their go-to guy. I was really surprised by their strategy, but it worked out for us, so I'm not going to complain. I'd rather go outside and block. It's always easier because you have more time and the defense can set up in the back row."

Jensen pounded out six kills in the first game. But with the Anteaters trailing 27-25, his line shot hit the antennae.

"We had opportunities in the first game, but one or two plays turned that around," Irvine coach Charlie Brande said. "If we win the first game, maybe it's a different match."

The score was tied at 11 in the second game before UH scored six in a row to take control. Freshman middle blocker Delano Thomas, who missed the previous six matches to focus on academics, was the server for five of those points, including two aces.

"I had time to work on my serves," said Thomas, who struggled in that area early in the season.

But last night, Thomas had four aces, was perfect on five kill attempts and used his reach (from a standing jump, he can touch a marker 11 feet, 8 inches) to alter several Anteater shots.

"It's great to be back," Thomas said. "It was so frustrating not to play. I'm so glad I can contribute to the team."

Ching, who has played sporadically in the past month because of illness and suspension, provided hustle and perimeter hitting. Once, Ching trespassed onto the Anteaters' side of the court to save an errant UH pass. It was the type of adjustment and active play lacking in the Anteaters' game.

"Jensen had a tremendous first game, and then they put two blockers in front of him," Brande said. "I didn't feel our setter was very good at reading what was going on. Then we hit some balls out at crucial times. We'd hit the ball into the net or hit the ball out. We kind of chewed ourselves in the foot with that."

For the Warriors, the scenario was scripted in four uneven practices leading to the match. Despite the sluggishness of playing eight consecutive road matches this month, the Warriors managed to work extensively on serving during workouts.

"We wanted to serve smart and take them out of their system," said Theocharidis, who led the Warriors with 16 kills. "That was the whole plan."

Brande juggled the lineup in the third game, with Devin Shea moving to libero and outside hitters Spencer Benus and Jimmy Pelzel going to the bench. Nothing worked, and everything seemed to trace back to the Warriors' precision serves.

"They didn't really pass very well," Zimet said. "Maybe we made them not pass that well. Maybe that's why it was 3-0. But we have to keep up our mental strength and be ready for the second match. Even if they didn't show it, they're a very good team."

The rematch is tonight, with the first serve at 7:05.