Updated at 9:36 p.m., Friday, April 13, 2007
UH men's volleyball team clinches playoff spot
Advertiser Staff
Lauri Hakala slammed 19 kills Friday night to boost the University of Hawai'i volleyball team to a three-game sweep of Stanford and into the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoffs.The scores were: 30-22, 30-23, 30-22.
By winning their ninth in a row, the Warriors improved to 12-13 overall and 10-11 in the MPSF. They conclude the regular season with Saturday's rematch.
The Warriors are tied for sixth with Cal State Northridge. Only the top eight teams advance to the MPSF playoffs.
If UH and Northridge both win tonight, the Warriors have the tie-breaker edge and would finish sixth, meaning they would face No. 2 UC Irvine next week in Southern California.
Even if the Warriors lose, they can finish no worse than eighth-place Southern California. UH also has the tie-breaker over USC.
Matt Vanzant, who was ineffective last week and nearly lost his starting job, was in the opening lineup and finished with 12 kills. He hit .400.
The Warriors dominated all phases, controlling the net (11.5 blocks to Stanford's 6.0) and passed and served effectively. The Warriors also were able to finish rallies.
Evan Romero led Stanford with 17 kills, but he also committed 10 errors and hit .184.
Kawika Shoji, the son of UH Rainbow Wahine coach Dave Shoji, contributed seven kills for the Cardinal.
Saturday will be the final regular-season home match for UH seniors Brian Beckwith, Dio Dante, Eri Kalima and Hakala.
