Sweet victory for Warriors

• UH supplants UCLA as No. 1

Advertiser Staff

To the victors belong the Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

That was the University of Hawai'i volleyball team's reward for completing a sweep of a four-matches-in-five-nights trip with last night's 30-20, 24-30, 30-27, 30-19 victory over Pacific in Stockton, Calif.

In winning their eighth in a row, the Warriors successfully defended the No. 1 ranking bestowed yesterday morning and improved to 10-2 overall and 7-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

"And we get some Krispy Kreme doughnuts," said outside hitter José José Delgado, UH's floor captain. "Everything is good right now."

UH's top ranking provided motivation for Pacific, which hungered to avenge Monday night's three-game loss. Before the match, UOP coach Joe Wortmann activated outside hitter Nils Daubers, the country's leader in aces. Daubers was suspended Monday for not fulfilling "team expectations."

Daubers, who entered at the midway point of Game 1, provided a sizzling serve. He had four of the Tigers' 15 aces.

"He hits hard," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "He's got a really good jump serve."

Opposite hitter Brian Zodrow's dancing jump serves and setter Mitch Hazelett's floaters also induced fits for the Warriors' primary passers, Delgado and libero Alfred Reft.

"Serving tough was part of their game plan," Wilton said. "They didn't think they matched up well with us."

But eventually the Warriors were able to solve the riddle of the Tiger serves. In Monday's match, setter Brian Beckwith looked first to the outside. Last night, Beckwith mixed it up, incorporating the middle blockers into the offense. Middle blocker Joshua Stanhiser pounded 12 kills in 18 swings with no attack errors.

"My hitting depends on where (the Tigers) think they need to block," Stanhiser said. "What hurt them (Monday night) was our outside. They dedicated the block to that (last night). I didn't see two guys up on me too often (on quick sets to the middle). It's easier to hit around a single block."

UH opposite hitter Pedro Azenha pounded a match-high 18 kills, outside hitter Delano Thomas contributed 17 kills and four aces, and Delgado provided nine digs and a steadying influence.

"My job is to help the guys concentrate," Delgado said. "I don't worry about my hitting. We have Delano and Pedro and Josh for that. I'm glad coach trusts me. I like (the leadership role). I want to be that guy."

The Warriors left Honolulu last Wednesday in third place in the MPSF. They return today in first place after sweeping a four-match series for the fourth time in Wilton's 12 seasons as UH head coach. Under Wilton, the Warriors are 70-38 (.648) in regular-season road matches and 32-8 (.800) in four-match road trips.

"This is the MPSF, and every match is tough," Wilton said. "We were able to prevail four times in five days. That was quite an accomplishment. ... After the (match), I congratulated them. It took a lot of character to do what they did."

UH supplants UCLA as No. 1

The University of Hawai'i Warriors yesterday celebrated their designation as the nation's No. 1 volleyball team with a collective shrug.

"It's important to put this in perspective," said UH coach Mike Wilton, noting the Warriors have yet to play a top-six opponent. "We haven't done anything yet, because we haven't played (Nos.) 6 through 1."

The Warriors received 12 of 16 first-place votes and 235 points in the USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association top-15 poll.

UCLA, last week's No. 1, is second with three first-place votes. UCLA, which lost in three games to Long Beach State last week, meets UH in Honolulu next week.

At this stage of the season, Wilton said, the ranking is "highly irrelevant. Our task remains the same. ... We're still trying to get better each day."