UH turns back Penn State

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser staff writer

Just when it appeared the University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team was facing inspirational bankruptcy — cha-Ching! — two seniors helped turn the Warriors' fortunes.

Costas Theocharidis celebrates Hawai'i's four-game volleyball victory over Penn State. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

A crowd of 4,515 in the Stan Sheriff Center watched the top-ranked Warriors (3-0) win the rematch of one of last year's national semifinals, also won by UH in four games.The Nittany Lions, ranked No. 4, are 0-1.

"There certainly was an ebb and flow to the match," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "We played well in Game 1 and they played well in Game 2, and then the match began."

During the 10-minute intermission between the second and third games, Wilton pored over the statistics and noticed Ching had three kills in nine swings and Zimet had a hitting percentage of minus .125.

"Everybody was standing around waiting for somebody else to get the job done," Wilton said. "There were real fragmented performances, especially in Game 2."

In the locker room, Wilton turned to Ching, the hero of last year's NCAA championship match, and Zimet, UH's captain.

"We challenged those guys," Wilton said. "I know Tony and Eyal will always accept a challenge."

Setter Kimo Tuyay had noticed the Warriors' attack was reduced to senior Costas Theocharidis on the perimeter and sophomore Delano Thomas in the middle.

"We can't be keying on just two guys on our team," Tuyay said. "We have to get everybody involved."

In the final two games, Ching provided the visible impact. In that span, he hammered 10 of his 13 kills, making only one error, and finished off Game 3 with consecutive aces.

Zimet's contributions were more subtle. He finished with nine digs, correcting the Warriors' early passing problems, and his serve placements forced the Nittany Lions to scramble to find setter Nate Mathews, a first-year starter.

"Coach came out with a challenge," Ching recalled, "and me and Eyal pretty much responded well to that. We recognized we weren't playing up to par."

Zimet remembered returning to the court for Game 3 "with a little bit of anger. I think people could see that. Nobody wants to have a bad match. I kind of started slow. I wanted to finish strong."

Ching said: "We've all been there before. We don't feel pressure like we used to. Everybody is willing to carry the load. That's why the chemistry is alive. If somebody is having a bad night, someone will step up. And that person stepping up will challenge the others to step up."

The Nittany Lions had their own frustrations. The Warriors' tough serves — Theocharidis, Ching, Zimet and Thomas repeatedly launched jump serves — turned the Lions' defense into a six-man scramble. Most times, Mathews was able to parlay off-base passes into hittable sets.

"I'm very impressed with that setter," Wilton said. "He did a nice job. (Mathews' teammates) had good swings all of the time."

Still, the Warriors managed 11 aces — Ching had three in Game 3 and Thomas had three in the final game — and amassed 18 blocks. Zimet had three solo blocks, and Tuyay contributed to eight blocks.

"Everybody stepped up, especially Tony and Eyal," Tuyay said. "Those guys want the ball. Even when I make a mistake, and can't get it to them, they don't care. They just want the ball again. That attitude is what's going to help us through the year."

Theocharidis finished with 24 kills.

Zeliko Koljesar led the Nittany Lions with 15 kills.

In the other match, Shanghai Oriental, relying on skill and acrobatics, easily defeated Ball State, 30-24, 30-21, 30-26.

Shanghai befuddled the Cardinals, last year's Midwest champion, with a large menu of plays.

The rotations had little impact on Ding Yi, who set to all areas of the court. Ding found 6-foot7 Shen Quiong in the corners and back row. Shen hammered 19 kills in 29 swings, many off X plays, in which two hitters on the same side would soar for sets.

Shanghai was so active defensively it did not use a libero for most of the third game.

Josh Zuidema, who played in only the final two games, led Ball State with 12 kills.

Tonight, Penn State and Shanghai Oriental meet at 5 p.m, with the Warriors playing Ball State at approximately 7:30.

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