Penn St. beats Hawai'i in five
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
It took nearly three hours and a snap-quick middle attack for Penn State to exhaust every Hawai'i comeback attempt and emerge with a 30-27, 36-38, 30-28, 27-30, 15-13 victory Thursday night in the opening round of the Outrigger Hotels Volleyball Invitational.
What remained of a Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 3,715 saw the Nittany Lions secure match point when UH outside hitter Delano Thomas' crossing shot could not stay in bounds.
"I just missed it," said Thomas, who finished with a team-high 17 kills. "It happens."
As predicted by UH coach Mike Wilton before last night's season opener, the Warriors are indeed "a work in progress." With new starters at each of the seven positions, outside hitter Jose Delgado said, "We're going to need some time. We have to stay calm. We're going to get better. We have to be patient."
The Warriors started a freshman setter (Brian Beckwith), an All-America middle blocker at left-side hitter (Thomas) and a middle blocker (Mauli'a LaBarre) back from a 14-month church mission in Russia.
The Nittany Lions, also reloading after losing their top four hitters, took advantage of the Warriors' reconstructed block and erratic passing. Dan O'Dell repeatedly sent quick sets to middle hitters Keith Kowal (match-high 19 kills) and Nate Meerstein (14 kills).
"If we can pass," Penn State coach Mark Pavlik said, "we're going to be OK."
The Warriors had difficulty mastering the first part of the pass-set-slam formula. Worried about Thomas' inexperience as a full-time defensive player, the Warriors added a fourth passer when Thomas was in the back row.
But then Delgado, who was named UH's floor captain, struggled with his hitting accuracy and was lifted in Game 1. Because team captains Kimo Tuyay and Jake Muise did not suit up — UH limited the active roster to 12 players — Delgado's demotion for the rest of the first game and all of the second left the Warriors without a designated leader on the court.
"This was the first time I played in a year and a half," said Delgado, who redshirted in 2003 and missed the final month of fall camp because of a back injury. "I know that's not an excuse, but I was very anxious. I tried to do too much."
UH opposite hitter Pedro Azenha, who was expected to carry a large share of the offense, also struggled and was lifted.
"This can happen," Azenha said. "I just can't get upset about it. I have to keep playing."
Azenha's demotion opened the way for Matt Bender, who drilled 13 kills, made four digs and kept the Nittany Lions scrambling with tough serves.
"I've been practicing pretty good, but I honestly didn't think coach would put me in," Bender said. "Pedro has been playing great (in practice), that's why I feel so privileged to be here and get a chance. It's a dream come true. If I never play another game, I'll still be happy as a clam."
Joshua Stanhiser, who opened the 2003 season as a starting middle blocker before losing the job a month later, came up with his best performance. Stanhiser amassed 13 kills and assisted on nine blocks.
Stanhiser and Beckwith collaborated on consecutive blocks to close out Game 4, forcing the first-to-15 fifth game.
There were nine ties before the Nittany Lions scored four in a row to take a 13-9 lead. But a service error, a Thomas solo block and Arri Jeschke's ace closed the Warriors to 13-12.
The teams traded points before Thomas' kill attempt went wide to end the match — at 3:30 a.m. Eastern time.
"It was a long match," LaBarre said. "You can tell we were trying to get settled. We're still in the adjustment period."
Manitoba wins: In a matchup of defending national champions, Manitoba defeated Lewis (of Illinois), 30-24, 30-27, 30-27, in the opening match of the Outrigger tournament.
"I guess we take the North American crown," said Manitoba coach Garth Pischke, whose team has won three of the last four Canadian national titles. "That's a good thing. We not only represent our school, we represent Canada."
