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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 11:40 p.m., Wednesday, January 3, 2007

B.C. sweeps UH men in volleyball

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

The University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team was swept by British Columbia Wednesday night, 30-23, 30-21, 30-25, in an exhibition match in the Stan Sheriff Center.

A crowd of 1,465 watched the T-Birds control the serve-and-pass phase and then the Warriors.

The T-Birds played crisply in their first match since Nov. 24. They are in the sixth week of a mid-season break from league competition.

The Warriors, meanwhile, reconvened Monday after taking nearly a month off for the holiday season.

The Warriors' woes could be traced to inconsistency in the serve-and-pass phase. The T-Birds scored 36 points on plays initiated by their serves; the Warriors' serves led to 16 points.

Most of all, the Warriors had difficulty passing float serves. The T-Birds lofted the floaters short and to the wings, often forcing opposite attacker Lauri Hakala or left-side hitter Eric Kalima to move up to pass.

"If Lauri has to go and take it, he's out of the play, he can't hit," UH coach Mike Wilton said.

The T-Birds amassed 13 blocks, including six solo rejections, compared to the Warriors' 5.5 blocks.