UH tops No. 1 Irvine
Advertiser Staff
Conquering the madness in the Bren Center and a second-game hiccup in concentration, the second-ranked Hawai'i men's volleyball team defeated No. 1 UC Irvine, 30-18, 24-30, 30-18, 30-26, last night at Irvine, Calif.
The rematch is this afternoon in 700-seat Crawford Hall.
Last night's match, which was shown delayed on cable television in Orange County, was moved to the 5,000-seat Bren Center because of the importance of the meeting. A record crowd of 3,235 turned out for the Anteaters' first-ever match as a top-ranked team.
"It was loud, especially with students being 95 percent of the clientele," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "The place was hopping."
And it was the Warriors who jumped out to an early lead, relying on precision passes to set up Costas Theocharidis on the outside and Delano Thomas in the middle. Theocharidis, a senior, finished with a match-high 20 kills and Thomas added 17 kills (.593 hitting percentage), seven blocks and two aces.
The Warriors imploded in Game 2, when they struggled with their passes, but dominated Game 3 and finished off the match with a 5-1 surge.
The outcome left NCAA volleyball without an undefeated team. UC Irvine fell to 10-1 overall and 3-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. UH is 6-1 and 2-1.
Wilton credited the victory to a team member who did not show up in the final statistics.
"Michelle did a nice job," Wilton said, referring to Michelle Landis, the team's athletic trainer.
In last Saturday's loss to Stanford, opposite hitter Eyal Zimet did not play because of back pain compounded by spasms and Thomas was ineffective after suffering a partially torn ligament in the right thumb of his hitting hand. But Landis has overseen Zimet's rehabilitation, and she crafted a specially made splint for Thomas' right hand.
While Zimet's statistics were modest — five kills in eight swings, six digs and a block assist — he is a dependable second passer, as well as a calming influence in an admittedly emotional lineup.
"He aids in the cohesion," Wilton said of Zimet, the team captain. "He's just a steady, dependable guy."
Thomas, who often grimaced when hitting or blocking against Stanford, showed no sign of the pain he was enduring last night.
He aggressively challenged the Anteaters' shots.
"He did a nice job," Wilton said.
The Warriors also were able to make mid-stream adjustments. When left-side hitter Tony Ching struggled in Game 2, he was replaced by freshman Pedro Azenha, who usually plays the opposite hitter position on the right side. Azenha had six kills and hit .300 before yielding to Ching in the middle of the fourth game.
"Pedro came in and gave us a lift, and then Tony returned the compliment," Wilton said. "That was good team stuff."
Specialist Matt Bender also was the server for seven points, including an ace.
"He did some nice things all night long," Wilton said.
Most of all, Wilton said, the Warriors were not rattled by the crowd. The CIA — "Completely Insane Anteaters," comprising of face-painted Irvine students — spent the evening trying to distract the Warriors. Three times the CIA was ordered to back away from the court area.
