Top-ranked UH volleyball team loses in four

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

It rained on O'ahu last night, and inside the Stan Sheriff Center, it poured on the University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team.

Hawai'i's Joshua Stanhiser gets a hand on a kill attempt by Cal State Northridge's Joe Nargi during a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men's volleyball match that was won by the Matadors in four games. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

The defending national champion Warriors, who regained the top ranking Tuesday, fell to 8-3 overall and 4-3 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

With their second consecutive victory over a No. 1 team, the 8th-ranked Matadors moved to 9-4 and 4-4. The rematch is tonight.

"The light bulb flicked on and off all night long," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "I don't think I prepared them very well and I don't think we brought much out on the floor. I guess we brought only enough to make it through Game 1."

Indeed, the Warriors made a strong first impression, hitting .500 and avoiding the Matador block in the first game. It was a familiar scenario for the Matadors, who entered with three first-game victories in their first 12 matches.

"I'm not sure why that happens," Matador setter Ty Tramblie said, "but we're used to that."

The Matadors' original plan was to serve to anybody but UH libero Matt Motter and opposite hitter Eyal Zimet. During the three-minute break before Game 2, coach Jeff Campbell made an alignment adjustment, "moving the block in a little."

That strategy mushroomed when the Warriors began to experience problems with their setting. UH's quick sets were too low for middle hitter Delano Thomas and the perimeter sets either were too close to the net or too far away.

"The setting was atrocious," Wilton said.

KImo Tuyay was lifted in the second game, and his replacement Daniel Rasay exited in Game 4.

"I think me and Kimo were having a little trouble with our location on the sets," Rasay said. "It was a tough night. Things weren't really flowing to us."

One thing led to another and soon the Matadors had a fingerprint on every Warrior kill attempt.

"We made some good moves at the right time, and we got some good blocks," Campbell said.

The Matadors' 15 blocks came in the final three games. Not by coincidence, the Warriors' offense went south during the same span. After committing four hitting errors in the first game, the Warriors made 29 in the next three games, during which they hit .177.

Combined with 18 service errors, the Warriors gave away 51 points last night.

Wilton used all 12 players on the active roster.

"We don't have anybody who will help us right the ship," Wilton said. "There are some people who may try, but if they're trying, nobody's paying any attention to them."

In contrast, Wilton said, the Matadors "made all of the hustle plays. They believed in themselves when they were down, and we put our chins on our chest when we were down."

The Matadors appeared to feed off of setter Tramblie, whose energy hardly drained during the 123-minute match. Tramblie chased down errant passes, recycling them into hit-me-please sets to the middle or back sets to opposite hitter Joe Nargi (team-high 19 kills).

Tramblie made seven digs, and even at an optimistically listed 6 feet, he challenged the Warrior attackers.

"My vertical jump," said Tramblie, who had a block solo and block assist, "is a lot better in games than in practices."

Campbell said: "Our setter's great, but we have a great team. This was a team victory."

Matador middle blocker Scott Arneson said it was a matter of warming up.

"We weren't really concentrating too hard out there (in the first game)," Arneson said. "We were moving a lot and not really paying attention and watching the other hitters. When we started doing that, we started getting some blocks."

At the end of the match, as "Happy Trails" played on the speakers, the Matadors signed autographs and accepted lei. The Warriors, for the first time this season, retreated to the locker room immediately. "Tomorrow's another day," Wilton said.

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