Posted on: Tuesday, February 4, 2003
Wilton mulls lineup change for Long Beach St.
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Head coach Mike Wilton is considering another lineup change for the Hawai'i men's volleyball team's road match against Long Beach State tomorrow.
He said he will wait until after tonight's practice in the Pyramid before announcing his plans.
One option is to expand the role of freshman Pedro Azenha, who can play left-side hitter, opposite hitter and middle blocker. Azenha filled in for left-side hitter Tony Ching in last Friday night's match against UC Irvine, then replaced opposite hitter Eyal Zimet in the rematch the next day.
"That's one thing under consideration," Wilton said. "We'll see what happens."
Jake Muise started at libero, or back-row defensive specialist, for the Warriors' first five matches before ceding the job to freshman Matt Motter. Despite struggling in the second match against Irvine, Motter is expected to start tomorrow. UH has limited options because Muise did not make the road trip and backup Arri Jeschke has played in only one match this season.
Wilton said he is hopeful Zimet, the team's captain, will rebound from Saturday's match, in which he had difficulty handling the Anteaters' serves. Zimet has been limited because of back pain compounded by spasms, but is proclaiming to be in good health now.
"He's either hurt, which he says he's not, or he had a horrible match," Wilton said. "But I suppose everyone but Delano (Thomas, the middle blocker) had problems."
Zimet and outside hitter Costas Theocharidis were scheduled to rejoin the team last night. Both wanted to attend classes at UH yesterday. They returned to the Islands on Sunday afternoon and were scheduled to depart to the Mainland yesterday afternoon. The rest of UH's travel party had remained on the Mainland.
"They've both been very good students," Wilton said. "I might catch heck later on from a budget standpoint, but it was the right thing to do."
Before yesterday's practice, Wilton implored his players to be fully prepared for tomorrow's match. Of last Saturday's match, Wilton said: "I think we just stopped playing. There were some people fighting to the end, but I don't believe that was true of everyone. That kind of stuff is decided before a match. Man can change how things are by how he thinks. I like that saying."
