Posted on: Saturday, March 19, 2005

Warriors hit low point against BYU

Advertiser Staff

The University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team's high hopes disappeared into thin air last night in Provo, Utah.

Playing at 4,553 feet above sea level and in front of 3,030 taunting fans in the Smith Fieldhouse, the Warriors fell to Brigham Young, 30-28, 30-19, 30-26.

In suffering their worst loss of the season, the Warriors dropped to 13-5 overall and 9-4 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The Cougars are 13-7 and 8-5.

"It was pretty crummy," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "It was not what I expected at all."

The Warriors produced season lows in kills (30) and hitting percentage (.082). In Game 3, they hit .000 with 10 attack errors offsetting 10 kills.

The Warriors used 11 of the 12 players on the travel roster. Five players rotated at the three outside positions, with none achieving success. The outside hitters combined to commit 19 attack errors and hit .030.

"We had no production at all," Wilton said.

Hawai'i led 13-8 in Game 1 before BYU middle blocker Victor Batista seized the momentum with his defense, serves and powerful swings.

Soon after, the Cougars outplayed the Warriors in the two categories that mean the most — serving and passing.

"When you don't serve and pass, it's hard to be successful," Wilton said. "How much fun is life for somebody who can't breathe or see? That's what those two skills are like in volleyball."

The spillover was felt in Game 2, when Wilton pulled three starters — left-side hitters Matt Bender and José José Delgado and middle blocker Mauli'a LaBarre — in a desperate attempt to match the Cougars' steady play.

"They were in system," Wilton said of the Cougars, "and we got crushed."

The Cougars also energized the crowd with their theatrical celebrations. After one kill, Batista circled the Cougars' side of the court. Outside hitter Ivan Perez pounded his chest after a kill. Perez finished with a match-high 18 kills.

The fans "definitely pumped their sails," Wilton said. "We were in charge early. That's the one good thing. But when you have fans like that, who will do whatever they can to fire up their team, you have to play well. If you back off, for whatever reason, it's like throwing gasoline on a fire."

The rematch between the teams is tonight.

The Warriors will remain on the Mainland for matches against UC San Diego Wednesday and Friday.

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