Warriors spike Pacific for 7th victory in row

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Is there any doubt the University of Hawai'i is playing lights-out volleyball lately?

Hawai'i's Delano Thomas hammers down a kill past Pacific's Nil Dauburs in the first game. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

"We're a mentally tired team right now," said UH coach Mike Wilton, noting many of his players spent the week taking make-up tests because of their busy road schedule. "But we got a 'W,' and that's what matters the most."

By winning their seventh in a row, the Warriors improved to 17-5 overall and 11-5 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The Tigers are 14-10 and 8-7.

Once again jump-started by jump serves, the Warriors disrupted the Tigers' reconfigured offense — outside hitter Nils Dauburs moved to middle blocker and former Saint Louis School standout Brian Zodrow made his first career start — to win the first two games.

In Game 3, Costas Theocharidis hammered a kill, giving the Warriors a 6-5 lead, when the court lights flickered and then the arena went dark.

"There's something electrifying about Costas that affects the lights," UH team captain Eyal Zimet said, although the official cause was listed as a power outage on UH's Lower Campus.

The generator restored power to the corridor lights, but the mercury lights that illuminate the court needed to cool for 15 minutes before restarting.

While the Warriors stretched and refreshed their strategy during the break, the Tigers gathered for an impromptu dance contest, which was highlighted by head coach Joe Wortmann's robotic moves.

"That's what a coach needs to do," Wortmann said. "Whatever it takes to get your team motivated and loose and playing well."

The break appeared to energize the Tigers, who scored the first three points after play resumed. They led by as much as 23-17 en route to extending the match.

But the Warriors relied on their jump serves to regain control. They finished with a season-high 12 aces, led by middle blocker Delano Thomas' five.

"I've been hitting it as hard as I can," Thomas said. "I've always been confident with my serves, but now they're going in more."

Pedro Azenha, a freshman from Brazil, added four aces, finishing with seven during the two-match series. He started in place of ailing Tony Ching, who was absent because of flu-like symptoms.

"Serving is something I've worked on since I was 14," he said. "That's one way to make points."

Although the Tigers' passing improved from Friday's match, Wortmann said: "Without a doubt, Hawai'i is the best serving team in the league. We passed better, but they still had 12 aces."

The Warriors' tough serves forced Tiger setter Chris Tamas to repeatedly chase down errant passes.

"That's the best serving team I've seen since I've been in the league, and this is my fourth year in the league," Tamas said. "Our team came out ready to fight, but they just took it to us."

After the match, UH's Matt Bender break-danced, finishing with a head-spinning move. On this night, the last dance was saved for the Warriors.

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