Warrior volleyball team tops Santa Barbara in 4
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
The University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team salvaged broken parts for a workable 30-24, 30-27, 27-30, 30-23 victory over UC Santa Barbara last night in the Stan Sheriff Center.
Lucy Pemoni • Associated Press
"It was horrible," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "It was ugly as sin, no question about it."
Hawai'i's Jake Muise digs against UC Santa Barbara.
Before a crowd of 4,397, the Warriors improved to 21-5 overall and 15-5 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. They clinched a host berth for the April 19 opening round of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The Gauchos fell to 9-19 and 4-16.
The Warriors won their 11th in a row despite erratic play and outside hitter Costas Theocharidis' fatigue. Theocharidis, who entered as the nation's kill leader (5.6 per game), was pulled in the middle of Game 4.
"I wore down," said Theocharidis, who was bothered by a severe sore throat. He recently recovered from flu-like symptoms that limited his practice time leading to the match.
Theocharidis, who finished with 16 kills, committed five attack errors in the last two games. Freshman Pedro Azenha replaced Theocharidis, helping the Warriors score 14 of the final 22 points.
"Thankfully Pedro can come in and give us some fresh legs and some timely kills and good serves and a nice block," Wilton said. "He energized us, because we were kind of out of it."
UH's sloppy play was a combination of unforced errors and the Gauchos' revised lineup. In Game 3, the Warriors, who had been serving well in recent matches, committed seven service errors, each striking the net. "That's unacceptable," Wilton said.
Lucy Pemoni • Associated Press
Wilton used backup setter Daniel Rasay in Game 3 before recalling Kimo Tuyay for the fourth game.
Hawai'i's Costas Theocharidis goes for a kill against UC Santa Barbara in the first game. Theocharidis finished with 16 kills.
"I really wanted to play some other guys, and I thought we would be fine," Wilton said. "We actually had a nice lead (in Game 3), but we just let it get away."
The Warriors also had difficulty receiving the Gauchos' serves. Keith Busam and Adam Ulfers ripped away while Michael Kennedy placed floaters to force the UH passers to scramble. It was a different strategy from Friday's opening match of the series, won by UH in three.
"I think they took a lot more chances with their serves because they didn't have anything to lose," UH outside hitter Eyal Zimet said. "That kind of took us out of our system for a while. In addition, we were kind of sleepy at the beginning."
Dane Jensen started at setter for the Gauchos, providing more range than his predecessor, Bart Kowalski.
Later, 6-foot-6 Matt Boelke spelled Ulfers on the outside, boosting the Gauchos' block.
"I thought my guys were fired up and played well," UCSB coach Ken Preston said. "And I thought my setter Dane Jensen set a nice match. He hasn't played a whole lot, but it was a good match by him."
But for all of the Warriors' problems — 24 errors on attacks and 21 on serves — the Gauchos also struggled with their accuracy. They committed 29 attack errors, mostly trying to navigate over UH's active double block, and hit .206.
"Everyone was a little sluggish," said UH outside hitter Tony Ching, who finished with a match-high 17 kills. "Our serving definitely wasn't on, our passing was sketchy and our hitting definitely wasn't up to par. But we found a way to win, and that's the main thing. We're not always going to have a good night. But as long as we keep coming away with wins, we'll be happy."
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