UH plays Pepperdine in volleyball rematch
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
At the midway point — 11 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matches down, 11 to go — the University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team has reprioritized its goals, now aiming to finish the regular season among the top four teams in the NCAA's best conference.
Top-ranked Pepperdine, which defeated the Warriors Wednesday and faces them in tonight's rematch, has a sizeable head start in the race for its second consecutive MPSF regular-season title and accompanying top seed in the MPSF Tournament.
Eight of the top 12 teams play in the MPSF Tournament, with the top four seeds serving as first-round hosts. After that, the highest remaining seed is the host to the semifinals and title match, with the tournament winner earning the league's automatic berth in the NCAA final four. The lone at-large team is expected to come from the MPSF.
Pepperdine has an 11-0 MPSF record; defending national champion UH, at 6-5, is in sixth place.
"If we want to talk about pure math, Pepperdine is way out in front," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "Our goal is to host in the first round, and then to move on from there, just like last year."
UH is ranked second nationally — Pepperdine coach Marv Dunphy continues to vote the Warriors No. 1 — but poll positions only factor partially in choosing the NCAA at-large team.
When asked if he was concerned about his team's MPSF record, Wilton said, "No, I'm not not. The way my team is playing, I'm not worried. Maybe some of our players are worried, but I'm not. And here's why: we've played two real good matches in a row, and we're playing with a lot of heart and soul right now. Even if we lose again, I don't care, because I know we're going to get better and better."
Wilton said he has no plans to change the starting lineup for the rest of the season. After four changes this season, including three in the last two weeks, he has settled on a lineup of outside hitters Costas Theocharidis and Tony Ching; opposite hitter Eyal Zimet; middle blockers Delano Thomas and Brian Nordberg; setter Kimo Tuyay and libero Jake Muise.
During a 75-minute meeting before last week's second match against Brigham Young, Wilton recalled, "the players decided they would hold themselves accountable, as individuals, to practice hard and play hard. Everybody is making the maximum effort."
Wilton said the current lineup has "a certain chemistry. Chemistry is an interesting phenomenon. You can look at numbers, and it won't tell you the chemistry lineup."
Wilton also said he is considering expanding the role of serving specialist Matt Bender. In Wednesday's four-game loss, Wilton said, Bender "was going to be the first guy to come in for Tony or Costas" at left-side hitter.
As a redshirt freshman last season, Bender, who does not receive any financial aid from the program, battled to even earn practice time. With limited practice space, sometimes only 14 of the 18 players on the roster are invited to compete in team workouts.
Bender is admittedly an unimposing figure. "He's the same size as Costas," Wilton said. "Depending on the measuring stick we're going to use, he's either a small 6-3 or a big 6-2. But he's big by Hawai'i's standards."
Bender received extended practice time during fall drills. "He just grew up," Wilton said. "He's getting strong and better. He's going to figure more and more in our plans."
NCAA rules limit men's volleyball teams to the financial equivalent of 4.5 scholarships each season. Teams can parcel the allotment, offering to cover a player's tuition or books or dormitory rent. If Bender continues to improve, Wilton said, "We'll try to get him some dough."
