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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Friday, February 18, 2005

USC pushes Hawai'i to limit

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Fortunately for the University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team, a poor first impression did not ruin last night's blind date.

USC's Chris Knight, left, blasted a spike attempt past the Hawai'i double block of Pedro Azenha and Dio Dante during the first game of last night's match at the Stan Sheriff center.

Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

The third-ranked Warriors overcame erratic play to pull out a 28-30, 31-29, 30-19, 32-34, 15-11 victory over Southern California before 2,394 in the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Warriors improved to 9-1 overall and 7-0 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The Trojans fell to 3-11 and 1-7.

"I don't know if I've ever seen us so out of it," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "We played some pretty good volleyball in Game 3, but other than that ... "

Wilton said part of the Warriors' struggles could be traced to last week's bye. "Maybe it wasn't so good for us to take some time off," he said. "But we had no choice."

The Warriors also could not overcome some technical difficulties. Wilton had abbreviated Wednesday's practice to allow the Warriors at least 45 minutes to review videotapes of two USC matches.

"The video that we were supposed to watch, well, the antiquated machines wouldn't work," Wilton said. "We couldn't watch anything. The coaches did (previously), but the players didn't. The video just didn't work. The machine rejected it. We'll have to find a machine that works."

When they do, they will likely fast-forward to the parts featuring opposite hitter Pedro Azenha (19 kills, .341 attack efficiency), outside hitter Matt Bender (17 kills, .371) and reserve outside hitter Lauri Hakala.

Hakala entered late in Game 1, replacing primary passer Josˇ Josˇ Delgado, and went on to finish with 10 kills (in 21 swings) and five digs. Most important, he served as a boost of Red Bull.

"He's a nut case," Bender said. "He gives us energy. I love having him on the court. He passes well. When he gets fired up, he gets us fired up. He's a sparkplug."

Hakala, a first-year Warrior from Finland, said: "Coach always tells me to keep warm when I'm standing (on the sideline). I made sure I was warm, and when he needed me, I tried to be ready. I wasn't too excited, although I missed a few serves. But after a while, things went my way."

Wilton said he will decide this afternoon whether Hakala will start tonight. UH has not changed the lineup for a non-injury purpose this season.

"We'll watch some video, and see what's going on," Wilton said.

The Trojans, too, will try to figure out how they could lose despite amassing more kills (80 to UH's 64) and taking more swings (177 to 140). The Trojans were able to stay in system most of the match, handling every server consistently except Azenha.

Although the Trojans were without freshman setter Jimmy Killian, who remained in Los Angeles while recovering from tonsillitis, they were able to evenly distribute the sets. What they did with them was another matter. USC committed 42 attack errors.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5051.

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