Pepperdine-Hawaii PreGame

[UHvbFan]

Dante may be out vs. Pepperdine

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

MPSF MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

Who: Pepperdine (14-1, 11-1 MPSF) vs. Hawai‘i (3-9, 3-11 MPSF)

When: 7:05 p.m. Thursday, 3 p.m. Saturday

Where: Stan Sheriff Center

Tickets: $14 (lower section: adults), $11 (upper section: adults), $9 (upper: seniors). $3 (upper: UH students, ages 4-18, Super Rooters; lower: Manoa Maniacs)

Parking: $3

TV: K5 (channel 5)


The University of Hawai'i volleyball team might be without its best middle blocker when it plays top-ranked Pepperdine on Thursday in the Stan Sheriff Center.

Dio Dante injured his left foot when he stepped on a wana while swimming Friday off Waikiki.

"There's a first time for everything," said Dante after his mishap with the spiny sea urchin. "It's really sore. I can't even walk around. It's one of those injuries you can't do anything about."

Dante's left foot was bandaged yesterday. He did not compete in practice. He said his availability is in question for Thursday's match.

"We'll see," he said. "I thought I'd feel much better. But I couldn't walk around school. It happened Friday, and I've been soaking my foot for, like, five hours this weekend. A lot of it got better, but it's still bad. I'm bummed."

Dante, one of four UH seniors, is fourth nationally in blocks, averaging 1.52 per game.

Kyle Klinger is Dante's immediate replacement.

Yesterday, Keali'i Frank, a freshman from Punahou School, practiced with the first team. The other starting middle blocker, Matt "Dragon" Rawson was ill.

But Frank, who is redshirting this season, will not be available to play on Thursday. If Dante and Rawson both are out, then Jake Schkud will move from outside hitter to the middle. Schkud has played several positions during his three-year UH career.

Meanwhile, UH coach Mike Wilton said Matthew Vanzant has secured one of the starting jobs on the left side. Team captain Lauri Hakala will play the other.

Vanzant played well early in the season, breaking into the starting lineup, but then slumped and found himself struggling for a berth on the active roster.

"I'm not sure what happened," Vanzant said.

But he improved his passing, tweaked his arm swing, and eventually worked his way back into the lineup.

"His play was inconsistent but his confidence was never gone," Hakala said. "Sometimes you play bad. Everybody has bad games and good games. But if you keep trying, you still have confidence. He kept trying. Every match he played, even if he didn't put up good hitting numbers, he passed good and he kept swinging hard and high. I'm proud of the kid."

The Warriors have five two-match Mountain Pacific Sports Federation series remaining. If they win eight of their final 10 MPSF matches, they would finish 11-11, good enough for a berth in the eight-team playoffs.

"I think 10 of 10 is do-able," Hakala said.

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[UHvbFan]

Waves have yet to peak

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

For the University of Hawai'i, there is something more difficult than playing the nation's top-ranked volleyball team tomorrow night.

There is the prospect that Pepperdine has not played at its best yet.

"We're playing well enough to win some matches, but we're not meeting some of the standards that we will have to meet at the end of the year," said Pepperdine coach Marv Dunphy, whose team is 14-1 overall and 11-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

The Waves have three accurate passers (libero Tanner Sutherland and left-side hitters J.D. Schleppenbach and 'Iolani alum Jon Grobe), the league's tallest setter (6-8 Jonathan Winder) and a thrill-and-kill maker (opposite attacker Paul Carroll).

In the MPSF, the goal is not necessarily to win the regular-season title but to improve incrementally leading to the eight-team playoffs. The MPSF regular-season champion does not receive an automatic berth in the NCAA final four, as it did a few years ago.

Until now, the Waves, with a tradition of balanced offenses, have relied heavily on Carroll, who has taken 283 more swings than any other teammate.

"We're kind of a one-man team," Dunphy said of 6-foot-7 Carroll. "He's carried a big load for us all year long. It's no secret."

Carroll is a threat from the right side, where he is aligned on five of six rotations, or behind the service line. He is averaging 5.94 kills per game. He also uses a fast-breaking serve to produce 37 aces.

"It's a really tough serve," UH coach Mike Wilton said.

Carroll, who was raised in Australia, made it known he wanted to pursue a college degree. UH had tried to him.

"Unfortunately for us, he opted for Pepperdine," Wilton said.

Before enrolling at Pepperdine in August 2005, Carroll suffered a broken ankle while training with Australia's national team.

"He didn't have the fall (of 2005) to practice," Dunphy said. "We had to nurse him through the season. He's been able to practice and train with us this year. It's been good for us and good for him. He's better, and as a result, he's helping us."

Winder also is healthy after missing three weeks because of a cracked tibia.

Because of Winder's height, the Waves can get away with high passes.

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[UHvbFan]

UH impresses coach of No. 1 Pepperdine

By Cindy Luis
[e-mail]

Hope may spring eternal but, when it comes to making the postseason tournament, hope is pretty finite for the Hawaii volleyball team.

The Warriors come into the week with their lowest ranking in 20 years (14th) and mired in 10th place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Hawaii (3-11, 3-9 MPSF) needs to start making a move over the next six weeks if it hopes to make the eight-team conference tournament.

The Warriors believe it will happen. So does the coach of top-ranked Pepperdine, this week's opponent, which arrives today riding an 11-match winning streak.

NO. 1 PEPPERDINE AT NO. 14 HAWAII

When: 7 p.m. tomorrow, 3 p.m. Saturday
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
TV: Live, KFVE
Radio: Live, 1420-AM
Tickets: $3-$14
Promotion: One free child's ticket (18-under) with each paid adult ticket
Series: Pepperdine leads, 32-21
Next up: vs. CSU Northridge, March 16-17

"The NCAA won't let coaches gamble, but I would bet that Hawaii goes deep into the (MPSF) tournament," Waves coach Marv Dunphy said. "I've only seen two tapes of UH, but we know the quality of our opponent this week.
"I agree with what Mike (Warriors coach Wilton) has said. They're solid with a very good balance. And they're a real good blocking team."

But so is Pepperdine (14-1, 11-1), which trails only Hawaii in team blocking in the MPSF. The Warriors are at 3.63 bpg, the Waves 3.42, with both having two players ranked in the top six in blocks.

Pepperdine's Tom Hulse (2.02 bpg) and Hawaii's Dio Dante (1.74), both senior middles, rank 1-2 in the MPSF. Wave sophomore setter Jonathan Winder is fifth (1.37). Warriors freshman middle Matt Rawson is tied for sixth (1.31).

However, in Wilton's opinion, blocking is a highly overrated statistic. The reason Pepperdine has lost just once -- a five-setter to Long Beach State with Winder out hurt -- is the Waves' consistency in hitting, passing and serving.

Waves sophomore opposite Paul Carroll leads the MPSF in kills (6.00) and is second nationally. The 6-foot-7, 200-pound member of the Australian national team also is second -- nationally and in conference -- in aces with 37.

"We are a one-man show," Dunphy said. "Paul Carroll has hit well and he's carried us. He carried us when Winder was out. When we got Winder back, we lost John Parfitt, and Paul carried us then."

Carroll's supporting cast is a good one. A very good one.

Winder, who missed the first five matches with a knee injury, is one of the best blocking setters in the country. Nationally, he ranks eighth in blocks (1.39 bpg) and fourth in assists (13.36).

Hulse leads the country in blocking (1.96 bpg, including games outside of the conference) and is hitting .395. However, Parfitt, a senior hitter (3.00 kpg) likely will see limited action against Hawaii; he has missed six matches with a shoulder injury that will require surgery after the season.

On the other side of the net, Hawaii is getting healthier but is not 100 percent. Dante missed a second day of practice after stepping on wana (sea urchin) and his status is day to day.

Senior libero Eric Kalima, 11th nationally in digs (2.35 dpg), was out yesterday with an apparent stomach virus. Rawson was back yesterday after missing Monday's practice with a flu bug.

But senior All-American hitter Lauri Hakala (strained stomach muscle) appears rested and ready to go and "from what I've seen, all they've needed was a healthy Hakala," Dunphy said. "From an outsider looking in, I feel good for Mike (Wilton) and Tino (associate coach Reyes). They have a good team."

After 12 days off from MPSF play, the Warriors are anxious to prove that.

"We know we'll have to play really well to beat them," UH sophomore opposite Jim Clar said. "We know they're really good, that's why they're No. 1. That's something to think about, but we're not playing the ranking.

"For us, it's about being consistent and putting it all together in a match."

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[UHvbFan]

Increase in playing time is bittersweet for Kalima

By Cindy Luis
[e-mail]

It's not the senior year he expected. That any of the Warriors expected. Not after finishing second in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation last year, ending the regular season winning 19 straight.

Certainly no one expected Hawaii (3-11, 3-9 MPSF) to be struggling like this to put W's into the win column. To be in 10th place and in danger of not making the MPSF men's volleyball tournament.

But if anyone can keep the Warriors focused on playing in the moment and not worrying about the past, it's Eric Kalima. The senior libero and co-captain knows all too well the frustrations of your best not being quite good enough ... as well as how determination and hard work pays off eventually.

After redshirting in 2003, the walk-on from Kamehameha Schools was in street clothes his freshman year, never seeing the court. Kalima made a very brief appearance as a sophomore, playing in the third match of the season against BYU ... and never again.

The backup libero to All-American Alfred Reft, Kalima tried to break in as an outside hitter as a junior and had more success than a 6-footer might be expected to have in the land of the volleyball giants. This season, he had earned a spot again on the outside, but when the Warriors' passing failed early, Kalima was back in the different colored jersey, doing a job that has him third in the MPSF in digs, 11th nationally.

"Eric has certainly paid his dues," Hawaii coach Mike Wilton said. "I love his all-out effort day after day with no complaints and no excuses.

"He won the job on the outside, but for him to be an effective hitter, we need to be a really good passing team. We aren't and we needed him to be a libero.

"He is a such great role model. Kind of quiet but works hard and very athletic. He is a Warrior, without question."

Many will remember Kalima's all-out effort to get a ball his junior year against Penn State. The Sandy Beach semi-permanent resident and outstanding bodyboarder attacked the riser barrier as if it were a wave, doing a front flip into the crowd, forgetting there would be no water landing.

"It was our first home game and I was so pumped to be on the court," he said. "I felt like I was bodysurfing. At the last second, all I could think was 'just tuck.' I was more sore than anything else, but it was something natural for me to do."

It wasn't the first time. At the 2003 Junior Olympics in Louisville, Ky., Kalima flew over two benches to get to a ball.

"He got to the ball, but it was out of bounds," said Warrior senior middle Dio Dante, Kalima's club teammate. "He's very athletic, very crazy. He's the guy who will go after any ball.

"He's kind of quiet off the court, but on the court he's pretty intense. He's always pumped up to play libero, which is kind of a hard position to get pumped up about. But he plays with so much emotion and likes to be the motivational guy so we can feed off each other."

Kalima has been that way since high school, according to former Kamehameha coach Pono Ma'a.

"He's pretty much a student of the game," said Ma'a, an All-America hitter for UH (1983-86). "He's self-motivated, works hard. But the biggest thing is his passion.

"When he played for me, he was a libero, except we didn't have that position in high school. He was just a back-row specialist. It's a bummer, because if we had a libero, then, he would have been huge."

Which is how Ma'a describes Kalima's physical change.

"He's got to be the strongest guy on the team, especially for his size," Ma'a said. "He's a stud now. He was a little guy when he played for me.

"I like the fact that when he's on the floor, he wants to make an impact. He's not there to take up space.

"He's a great story, local boy done good. He's the guy you want to go to war with. When I watch him play, he doesn't look like he's playing under pressure. It looks like he's enjoying every moment."

Kalima is the first to admit that he is.

"I'm just happy to be on the court," he said. "I always felt positive about being here. I knew if I kept training hard, I'd get my chance.

"I had to keep working at it. This is what was helping me get through school. I'm glad I stuck with it. Being the libero is fun for me. I'm enjoying my role on the team."

When Kalima missed practice this week with a stomach ailment, it shocked his teammates.

"He never misses practice," fellow senior co-captain Lauri Hakala said. "We knew he must really be sick or the crazy surfer got hurt at Sandy's.

"That he's a co-captain shows how much faith the guys have in him and says a lot about his character. He's quiet and if he says something, everyone will listen."

Kalima, who graduates in May with a sociology degree, has plenty to say about where the team is headed. First stop is qualifying for the MPSF tournament, which would be the perfect birthday present.

Kalima turns 23 the day before the MPSF quarterfinals on April 21.

"I still believe we can turn it around," he said. "Even though things aren't going well, we're still making progress.

"We have great fans and I hope more will come out. I'd like to say thanks for the support and hang in there with us."

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[UHvbFan]

Hawai'i spoiling for upset

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

The only cure for an ailing University of Hawai'i volleyball team is an upset of top-ranked Pepperdine tonight.

"It's all or nothing," setter Brian Beckwith said.

The Warriors, who are 3-11 overall and 3-9 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, figure they need to win eight of their final 10 regular-season league matches to qualify for the eight-team playoffs.

"It is a fun challenge, kind of like we have nothing to lose," Beckwith said. "We might as well play our hearts out and leave it all on the line. Each game, from here on out, is as important as a championship game."

The Warriors enter with health issues. Middle blocker Dio Dante said the ball of his left foot still is sore after he stepped on a wana (sea urchin) last Friday.

"I feel like such a baby, but it's a killer," Dante said.

Dante said the tip of the wana's spine is imbedded in his left foot. Doctors were able to remove only pieces of the spine.

"They can't find the end piece," Dante said.

He said his left gym shoe has been fitted with special padding.

Gellin'?

"Like Magellan," Dante said.

He added: "It's in a crucial spot, right on the pad, right by toes. If it were on my heel, I could stand on my toes. It still bothers me."

If Dante can't play, UH will turn to Kyle Klinger, a junior who has played in five matches this season.

Klinger is efficient hitting quick sets, but he has been the least productive blocker among the three UH middles.

"Blocking is a tough thing," Klinger said. "It takes reps. If you don't get the reps, you don't block well. Blocking in practice every day is a lot different than blocking against other teams. When I have the reps, I do well, and when I don't, I struggle like anybody else. It's definitely the part I need to work on the most, which is why I work on it the hardest."

Libero Eric Kalima also did not practice yesterday because of flu-like symptoms. Kalima, his head covered with a hoodie, spent practice sitting alone at the end of the UH bench.

Asked about his availability, he said, "Don't know."

Ric Cervantes, a freshman from Santa Barbara, has been the No. 1 libero in practices.

Cervantes, who played well during fall training, opened the season as the starting libero. But by the second week, he was replaced, with Kalima moving from left-side hitter.

Of his second chance, Cervantes said: "Any opportunity that is given to me is a blessing. I have to take advantage of it. I try to mentally focus within myself. I say to myself: 'What can I do better?' I try to do that."

Cervantes has honed his skills after three months of practices.

"I thought I was ready at the beginning of the season, but even more so now, because I've gotten more experience," Cervantes said. "The more experience you get, the more comfortable you get."

Pepperdine's only loss was in five games against Long Beach State Jan. 19. Since then setter Jonathan Winder has recovered from a leg injury, and opposite attacker Paul Carroll has become one of the nation's most productive hitters. Carroll is averaging 5.94 kills per game while receiving 33 percent of the Waves' sets. Carroll's quick-breaking, left-handed serves are difficult to pass.

The Waves also are efficient passers, in large part because of Winder's reach. Winder, at 6 feet 8, is the MPSF's tallest setter. That allows him to easily parlay high passes into well-place sets.

"They're a good team," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "They're the kind of team that exposes weaknesses."

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