Posted at 5:53 p.m., Thursday, April 27, 2006
Warriors' volleyball season likely over
Advertiser Staff
The University of Hawai'i's volleyball season ended Thursday night when Long Beach State upset top-ranked UC Irvine, 30-26, 30-20, 30-23, in the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament at Irvine, Calif.The Warriors, who finished second during the regular season but were ousted in the quarterfinals, believed their season would be extended if Irvine won the tournament and earned the accompanying automatic berth in next week's NCAA Championships.
If Irvine won the automatic bid, the Warriors were the overwhelming favorites to claim the NCAA's at-large berth. In the past 24 years, the MPSF, volleyball's strongest conference, provided the at-large team 23 times.
But Thursday night's outcome means Long Beach State and UCLA, a 30-26, 30-28, 30-23 winner over Pepperdine in the other semifinal, will play in tomorrow's MPSF title match. UC Irvine will earn the at-large berth, and the Warriors' season will come to an end.
"It's been a wonderful season," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "Each player has grown and made tremendous progress. We had a true team. It was just a wonderful year."
