'Bows sweep by Ball State

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i's Eyal Zimet notches a kill as the ball sails past Ball State's Josh Zuidema in the first game of their match last night at the Stan Sheriff Center. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Joshua Stanhiser, a 6-foot-10 middle blocker who was a member of the UH basketball team last year, hammered 12 kills in 13 swings — he had 12 kills in the previous three matches — and specialist Matt Bender served five points to boost the Warriors to a 31-29, 30-28, 30-25 victory over Ball State last night.

The Warriors and Shanghai Oriental, which swept Penn State in an earlier match, will meet for the Outrigger Hotels Invitational title tonight. UH and Shanghai are 2-0 in the round robin.

Preceding the match will be a ceremony to unveil the banner commemorating the Warriors' 2002 national championship.

The Warriors were in a celebratory mood after Stanhiser's stunning outburst.

"Josh did a great job," said outside hitter Eyal Zimet, UH's team captain. "He was a factor offensively."

Stanhiser appeared to play tentatively in UH's first three matches. But last night, with Ball State shifting two blockers to cover middle blocker Delano Thomas and outside hitters Costas Theocharidis and Tony Ching, Stanhiser was left to face a lone blocker.

"If (the blockers) are not going to go up with me, I'm going to have a field day," Stanhiser said. "It's not like I'm doing anything special. It's they're not respecting me."

Late in Game 1, Stanhiser buried three consecutive kills, helping to quell a Cardinal rally.

UH setter Kimo Tuyay "really went after Josh," Theocharidis said, "and it paid off."

Stanhiser traced his early struggles to the Stan Sheriff Center thermostat. When he is not playing — as a middle blocker, he is replaced for two rotation turns by libero Jake Muise, the back-row defensive specialist — Stanhiser has had difficulty keeping warm. In setting the air conditioning, arena officials take into account the number of warm bodies in the stands. When attendance is fewer than 6,000 — UH is averaging about 4,300 per match — the temperature can drop to 70, or lower.

Before last night's match and during timeouts, Stanhiser played "pepper" with Muise. "I was chasing the digs, and that kept me nice and warm," Stanhiser said.

Stanhiser also contributed to four of the Warriors' six blocks. "I'm feeling more comfortable as time goes on," he said. "I'm still not getting the blocks that I want. If I could have 20 percent better blocking, I'd be happier."

Bender, a second-year freshman, has embraced his role as serving specialist. With the UH reserves chanting his given first name — "Johnny! Johnny!" — he served three consecutive points to give the Warriors a 26-24 lead in Game 2. In the final game, he served two more points, extending UH's lead to 25-19 and forcing the Cardinals to spend a timeout.

"We've been practicing and practicing, and I've been working on (serves)," Bender said. "I'm actually pretty confident. But I have to give credit to my teammates. They give me a lot of support. That makes me really happy. I can't do it without the team. That's the bottom line."

Stanhiser and Bender provided enough of a spark to offset Ball State's strong play. The Cardinals' aggressive serving led to inconsistent Warrior passes. While the Warriors scrambled to start their offense, the Cardinals would set up their blocks on the perimeter.

But when Stanhiser attacked from the middle, the Cardinals brought their block inside, opening the way for UH's outside hitters.

"Josh took the middle and it left the rest of us more court to hit against," Ching said. "That was nice."

That only added to the Cardinals' misery. Plane trouble delayed their arrival Wednesday, and Thursday night, they had difficulty against Shanghai's convoluted schemes. In Game 1 last night, the Cardinals appeared to take a 29-28 lead. But they were called for an illegal substitution, and their 29th point and ensuing serve went to the Warriors.

"We had a tough time finishing the games," Ball State middle attacker Amitai Sasson said. "We were neck and neck, but we were missing that last swing all of the time. Every time it seemed like they passed better and we started missing serves."

NOTES: The Board of Regents yesterday approved a new three-contract for UH coach Mike Wilton, who will earn an estimated $90,000 annually through May 31, 2005. ... Outside hitter Pedro Azenha, who was ineligible for UH's first four matches because of his participation in an international tournament, can be activated to play tonight.