Hawai'i volleyball bashes Ball State
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
For the University of Hawai'i volleyball team, change is good.
The Warriors (5-2), tweaking their offense for the second time in three matches, produced their third consecutive sweep, this time ousting Ball State, 30-21, 30-18, 30-28, last night in the Stan Sheriff Center.
The Cardinals (6-1) entered as the nation's only unbeaten team.
UH's Pedro Azenha and Jose Jose Delgado switched jobs, with Azenha moving to opposite hitter on the right side and Delgado going to second outside hitter, a left-side position that requires him to become a primary passer.
It was an easy transition. Delgado successfully passed the Cardinals' jump serves, Azenha hammered 13 kills, and the man who stayed put — outside hitter Delano Thomas — slammed 16 high-decibel kills.
"We've been going through a few rotations, and it seems we can't find one that isn't working for us," UH setter Brian Beckwith said. "It just shows we came out ready to play."
Beckwith, a 6-foot-6 freshman, has rarely picked incorrectly in this multiple-choice offense. Thomas and Azenha, each 6 feet 7, can hit over double blocks. Middle blockers Joshua Stanhiser and Mauli'a LaBarre also are finding their offensive groove off quick sets.
"It's like paradise," Beckwith said. "I can go wherever I want."
Most often, Beckwith looks to Thomas, who can touch 12 feet off a vertical jump. Thomas, an All-America middle blocker last season, has adjusted to blasting shots from the left side and back row.
"I'm feeling comfortable," Thomas said. "Time is doing that."
Last night, Thomas wore a bandage to protect the sprained right thumb on his hitting hand. "It's a little sore, but it's not too bad," Thomas said.
As it turned out, it was the Cardinals who were feeling the pain.
"I don't think we adjusted too well to (Thomas') attack," said Ball State outside hitter Jary Delgado, the calabash cousin of UH's Delgado. "I mean, he can jump. He was pretty much hitting over the top of the block. He jumps way too high."
The Cardinals tried to slow the Warriors' offense by repeatedly serving to Jose Jose Delgado.
"We went after him, and he really responded and passed the ball up to the net," Ball State coach Joel Walton said.
Delgado passed 33 serves without an error. "They didn't think I could pass well," Delgado said, "but I worked really hard on my passing. I'm ready for the serves."
In contrast, the Warriors were able to successfully place their serves, turning the Cardinals' side of the net into a six-man scramble. When the Warriors served in the first two games, they scored a point 46 percent of the time. The most successful was LaBarre, who was in the service rotation between hard-hitting Azenha and Thomas.
"It's my float serve," said LaBarre, who uses a running start before hitting off a badminton-swinging motion. "It kind of dances because it has no spin. Passers usually have a hard time because they're so used to hard-driving jump serves. It's like baseball, when a batter faces fastball, fastball, fastball and then somebody throws a knuckleball. I'm Tim Wakefield."
Ball State's Walton said: "I thought Hawai'i did a good job of serving. We didn't do a very good job of passing their serves. That was a big factor."
The rematch between the teams is tonight.
Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.
