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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Apr 6, 2014 13:30:52 GMT -5
'Bows do in BYU againBy Stephen Tsai, The Star-AdvertiserPOSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Apr 06, 2014 LAST UPDATED: 02:39 a.m. HST, Apr 06, 2014 KRYSTLE MARCELLUS / KMARCELLUS@STARADVERTISER.COM Siki Zarkovic, left, and Taylor Averill celebrated a point during Hawaii’s victory over BYU on Saturday. In a volleyball sequel that might have been better than the original, the University of Hawaii swept second-ranked Brigham Young, 37-35, 25-20, 25-19 before more than 4,000 fans in the Stan Sheriff Center on Saturday night. The Rainbow Warriors chipped in to give five seniors an emotional parting gift — a boost in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation standings — in their final home match. By upsetting the league's leader for the second night in a row, the Warriors improved to 13-9 in the MPSF and moved into a three-way tie for sixth place. The top eight teams qualify for the MPSF playoffs. The Warriors, who play two road matches against Pepperdine this week, have the tiebreaker advantage involving three or more teams because of their victories over BYU. The Warriors outlasted the Cougars in an epic first set — tying the longest since sets were reduced to 25 points four years ago — and then cruised in the next two sets to complete the storybook script. After imploding in the first two sets of a five-set victory on Friday night, the Warriors won six sets in a row over their longtime rival. "I got chickenskin watching this," said Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who had an endline seat. "This is three of the best sets ever from a drama point of view and from a UH point of view. I never thought we'd win three sets in a row. It was grit and determination. Every point was contested all around." The Warriors passed well, giving setter Joby Ramos a full menu of choices. "This was the best match I've seen Joby set in a while," middle Taylor Averill said. "Everything was clicking on all cylinders." Averill and middle Nick West combined for 14 kills. Left-side hitter Jace Olsen slammed nine kills on .471 hitting. Opposite Brook Sedore contributed 11 kills. "And Siki got us going," Averill said of left-side hitter Sinisa "Siki" Zarkovic. Zarkovic slammed 22 kills, giving him 32 kills on .429 hitting in the final six sets of the series. "When the team plays good, I play good," Zarkovic said. Zarkovic was able to tool swings off blocks at the pins, as well as pound quick pipe sets. Six of Zarkovic's kills were launched from behind the 3-meter line. BYU libero Jaylen Reyes, whose father was a longtime UH assistant coach, said the Warriors had too many weapons. "We didn't play bad at all," Reyes said, "but they played lights out. They destroyed us. Brook and Siki and Jace played well. We didn't do anything with Taylor. Nick played well. And Kolby (Kanetake) was passing lights-out. They're a tough matchup, especially at home on senior night. Their backs were against the wall." In Friday's match, the Warriors had difficulty with their serves. Saturday's strategy was to make the Cougars "receive serves," UH coach Charlie Wade said. "We didn't want to shorten the game for them." Taylor Sander, BYU's All-America outside hitter, pounded 17 kills. But he was blocked five times. "I'm really proud of our guys," Wade said, noting he was concerned about a second-night letdown. "It was such an emotional night (on Friday). But I could tell in the locker room (before Saturday's match) the guys were so determined. They knew we needed to win and send our seniors off as winners on our home court." Sedore said: "I don't think we beat them. I thought our crowd beat them. (The Cougars) got so nervous and so rattled."
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Apr 9, 2014 22:31:35 GMT -5
UH’s Zarkovic named national player of week
By Stephen Tsai, The Star-Advertiser
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Apr 09, 2014
University of Hawaii volleyball player Sinisa "Siki" Zarkovic was named the national player of the week on Tuesday. He easily could have garnered an award for top comeback.
Zarkovic admittedly had a horrendous start to Friday's match against Brigham Young, with two kills and six errors in nine swings in the first two sets. But he had 10 kills against one error in his next 20 attempts to boost the Rainbow Warriors to a five- set victory.
In the next night's rematch, Zarkovic amassed 22 kills on .410 hitting to complete the sweep.
"You can never give up," said Zarkovic, who was named the AVCA/Sports Import national player of the week. "We proved that after the first two sets. We came back and won the next six sets."
Zarkovic, a sophomore from Serbia, credited his teammates, especially setter Joby Ramos.
"His sets were really precise," Zarkovic said. "He played great."
UH coach Charlie Wade said the Stan Sheriff Center crowds were influential both nights.
"Did Siki play great because the crowd was into it or did the crowd get into it because Siki was playing great?" Wade said. "Siki played great on Saturday night. The crowd absolutely was a real asset for us on both nights, especially Saturday night."
The Warriors depart today ahead of road matches against Pepperdine on Friday and Saturday.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Apr 11, 2014 17:54:14 GMT -5
For UH, it's win or wave bye to playoff
By Stephen Tsai, The Star-Advertiser
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Apr 11, 2014 LAST UPDATED: 02:48 a.m. HST, Apr 11, 2014
The University of Hawaii volleyball team has crunched the numbers, checked them twice, and come to a practical solution.
"To make it easier on everyone," middle blocker Nick West said, "let's just win both matches."
The Rainbow Warriors are on the playoff bubble entering road matches against second-ranked Pepperdine on Friday and Saturday nights in Firestone Fieldhouse. This is the final weekend of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation's regular season.
The Warriors are in eighth place, at 13-9 in the MPSF, .002 percentage points ahead of USC (14-10), which already concluded its regular season. The top eight teams qualify for the MPSF playoffs.
UC Irvine (14-8) is in fifth place, and UCLA (14-9) and Long Beach State (14-9) are tied for sixth.
Of that group, UH holds the tiebreaker over only UCLA.
The Warriors will need to beat Pepperdine at least once. The Waves are 9-2 in home matches this season.
"The best way is to win everything," UH outside hitter Jace Olsen said, "and hopefully everybody else loses everything."
The Warriors have won four in a row over a nearly four-week period. Last weekend, they swept MPSF leader Brigham Young, ranked No. 2 at the time. Pepperdine is No. 2 this week, while UH has moved up to No. 8.
"There's motivation to get back in and play the No. 2 team again," Olsen said.
Thanks to a 16-day break leading to the BYU series, the Warriors are refreshed and relatively healthy. West, who suffered a broken finger early in the season, no longer wears a heavy wrap. At this time last year, left-side hitter Siki Zarkovic was out with an ankle injury. This week, he's the national player of the week.
This is the Warriors' fifth road trip of the season.
"It's fun," Olsen said of road trips. "We get to travel so far and take a trip with a bunch of your friends. It's like going on spring break every weekend."
Setter Joby Ramos said: "We'll be as ready as we'll ever be. There's a sense of urgency. It is a lot of our guys' last year."
There are five UH seniors, including Olsen, Ramos, West and serving specialist Johann Timmer.
"By now, the team jell has gotten so good," West said. "We're all getting along so well. The past week of practices have been going so well. I think it's going to reflect on this trip."
MPSF Matches
Thursday UCLA def. Cal Baptist 25-20, 25-12, 25-23 lOng Beach State def. cs Northridge 25-18, 25-22, 25-19
Friday Hawaii at Pepperdine, 4 p.m. HT BYU at UC Santa Barbara Stanford at UC Irvine Pacific at UC San Diego
Saturday Hawaii at Pepperdine, 4 p.m. HT BYU at UCLA Pacific at UC Irvine Stanford at UC San Diego Long Beach State at CS Northridge
End MPSF regular season
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Apr 12, 2014 16:06:12 GMT -5
Waves push 'Bows to edge
By Star-Advertiser staff
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Apr 12, 2014
The University of Hawaii volleyball team faces aloha ball to its 2014 season after losing in three sets to Pepperdine on Friday night in Malibu, Calif.
The Rainbow Warriors' playoff hopes have boiled down to a win-or-vacation situation entering Saturday's rematch against the second-ranked Waves in the regular-season finale in the Firestone Fieldhouse.
"We're still alive," UH coach Charlie Wade said after Friday's 25-19, 25-17, 25-23 loss.
UH and UCLA are battling for the eighth and final Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoff berth.
Based on the tiebreaker formula, UH (13-10 in the MPSF) could gain the postseason with a victory over Pepperdine coupled with a UCLA (14-9) loss to Brigham Young on Saturday. The Warriors won both regular-season matches against the Bruins.
The Warriors could have spared the dramatic finish if it could have mustered more of a fight against the Waves. The Warriors' fingerprints were all over this loss, from erratic serves (14 errors) to an inability to sideout consistently (54 percent).
"We never really got it going," Wade said. "We never put any pressure on them serving-wise. That's been a big thing for us, to put some pressure to score. I think, for us, that kind of defines us. That certainly didn't happen, but it was the only thing that didn't happen."
Opposite attacker Brook Sedore led the Warriors with 10 kills, but he committed seven errors. He hit .111.
That was better than outside hitter Siki Zarkovic, who managed four kills on 22 swings and hit .045. It was an untimely off night for Zarkovic, who was named the national player of the week on Tuesday for his work against BYU a week ago.
But on Friday night, the Warriors had difficulty passing the Waves' serves and, ultimately, finding an offensive rhythm.
In the first set, the Warriors closed to 13-12 before the Waves ran off four points in a row.
The Waves dominated the second set.
UH played better in the third set, leading 22-20. But Taylor Averill's float-push serve sailed long, and then the Waves tied it at 22 when officials ruled that Kyle Gerrans' pipe spike grazed a UH blocker's fingertips. The Warriors protested, even drawing a yellow card, but the call was sustained. The momentum shifted, and the Waves scored three of the final four points.
Punahou graduate Josh Taylor led the Waves with 11 kills.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Apr 13, 2014 12:35:30 GMT -5
'Bows fall to Pepperdine, miss playoffs
By Star-Advertiser staff
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Apr 13, 2014
The University of Hawaii volleyball team's good season was not good enough to extend into the postseason.
The Rainbow Warriors lost in four sets to Pepperdine — 19-25, 28-26, 25-18, 26-24 — to finish ninth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The top eight teams qualify for the MPSF playoffs.
The Warriors actually were eliminated 19 minutes before their final play of the season when UCLA defeated Brigham Young in four sets. A combination of a UH victory and a UCLA loss would have given the Warriors' the tie-breaking advantage for the eighth berth.
Instead, the Warriors finish 15-12 overall and 13-11 in the MPSF.
"We won 13, and 13 has never not made the playoffs," UH coach Charlie Wade said. "Last year, we would have been the (No.) 5 seed (with 13 victories). That needs to be noted. Last year, at 13-11 with the same teams, that was the 5 seed."
After sweeping BYU a week ago, the Warriors became one of five teams fighting for the final four playoff berths. The Warriors got no help from BYU, which finished the regular season with four consecutive losses. Still, the Cougars, who tied with Pepperdine at 18-6, will have the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
The Warriors were seeking to rebound after losing in three sets to Pepperdine on Friday. In that match, outside hitter Siki Zarkovic was held to four kills on 22 swings.
On Saturday, Zarkovic blasted a team-high 18 kills on .448 hitting. Or did he? Zarkovic wore outside hitter Kupono Fey's No. 21 jersey. Fey suffered an ankle injury during warmups, thinning the Warriors' reserve pool.
Still, the Warriors hit .328 against one of the nation's best blocking teams, served well enough at times, and were active on defense.
But the Warriors couldn't close out the second set after Zarkovic's ace gave them the lead at 26-25.
With the score tied at 24 in the fourth set, Zarkovic sizzled a serve that was returned high and long. Opposite Brook Sedore hammered the overpass for an apparent kill. But Sedore was called for the over-reach, the Waves were awarded the point, and the Warriors' momentum was siphoned.
"I was really proud of our guys," Wade said. "They competed. They stuck together. They were positive. They were looking at each other in the eye. They were looking at me in the eye. They were absolutely engaged all the way to the end."
Punahou graduate Josh Taylor led the Waves with 18 kills.
J.J. Mosolf, who redshirted at UH before transferring to Pepperdine, made his fifth consecutive start and finished with 12 kills on .333 hitting.
"The guys are disappointed," Wade said. "The seniors were like, ‘This is the most fun we've had.' We were good, but we weren't good often enough."
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Apr 18, 2014 13:06:42 GMT -5
Averill judged 1 of best in MPSF
By Star-Advertiser staff
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Apr 18, 2014
Hawaii middle blocker Taylor Averill was named to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation's all-conference men's volleyball team on Thursday, and four players who prepped in Hawaii also were honored.
Averill, a junior from San Jose, Calif., was second in the league in hitting percentage (.477) and fifth in blocking (1.22 per set) for a team that finished out of the playoffs at ninth in the 13-team conference. He was the only player from a team that didn't make the playoffs to be named to the first or second teams.
He is joined by plenty of players with Hawaii ties. Taylor Crabb of Long Beach State, Micah Christenson of USC and Josh Taylor of Pepperdine all made the first team. Crabb and Taylor prepped at Punahou and Christenson came out of Kamehameha.
USC libero Henry Cassiday, who also graduated from Punahou, was selected to the second team, along with Hawaii junior opposite Brook Sedore.
Hawaii didn't receive any honorable mentions or players on the all-freshman team.
BYU outside hitter Taylor Sander is the league's player of the year for the second straight year and USC outside hitter Lucas Yoder was judged the freshman of the year.
Sander, who was the freshman of the year two years ago, joins Pepperdine's George Roumain ('98-'99), Hawaii's Costas Theocharidis ('01-'03) and UCLA's Jeff Nygaard ('94-'95) as the only players to win the MPSF player of the year award multiple times.
ALL-MPSF FIRST TEAM Player of the year Taylor Sander leads conference picks: » Taylor Sander, BYU » Gonzalo Quiroga, UCLA » Brian Cook, Stanford » Micah Christenson, USC » Josh Taylor, Pepperdine » Taylor Averill, Hawaii » James Shaw, Stanford » Matt West, Pepperdine » Steven Irvin, Stanford » Jonah Seif, UCSB » Scott Kevorken, UC Irvine » Taylor Crabb, Long Beach State
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Post by WahineFan44 on Apr 18, 2014 15:34:12 GMT -5
Averill judged 1 of best in MPSFBy Star-Advertiser staff POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Apr 18, 2014 Hawaii middle blocker Taylor Averill was named to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation's all-conference men's volleyball team on Thursday, and four players who prepped in Hawaii also were honored. Averill, a junior from San Jose, Calif., was second in the league in hitting percentage (.477) and fifth in blocking (1.22 per set) for a team that finished out of the playoffs at ninth in the 13-team conference. He was the only player from a team that didn't make the playoffs to be named to the first or second teams. He is joined by plenty of players with Hawaii ties. Taylor Crabb of Long Beach State, Micah Christenson of USC and Josh Taylor of Pepperdine all made the first team. Crabb and Taylor prepped at Punahou and Christenson came out of Kamehameha. USC libero Henry Cassiday, who also graduated from Punahou, was selected to the second team, along with Hawaii junior opposite Brook Sedore. Hawaii didn't receive any honorable mentions or players on the all-freshman team. BYU outside hitter Taylor Sander is the league's player of the year for the second straight year and USC outside hitter Lucas Yoder was judged the freshman of the year. Sander, who was the freshman of the year two years ago, joins Pepperdine's George Roumain ('98-'99), Hawaii's Costas Theocharidis ('01-'03) and UCLA's Jeff Nygaard ('94-'95) as the only players to win the MPSF player of the year award multiple times. ALL-MPSF FIRST TEAMPlayer of the year Taylor Sander leads conference picks: » Taylor Sander, BYU » Gonzalo Quiroga, UCLA » Brian Cook, Stanford » Micah Christenson, USC » Josh Taylor, Pepperdine » Taylor Averill, Hawaii » James Shaw, Stanford » Matt West, Pepperdine » Steven Irvin, Stanford » Jonah Seif, UCSB » Scott Kevorken, UC Irvine » Taylor Crabb, Long Beach State He wasn't the only player. Sedore made second team....
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Post by baywatcher on Apr 20, 2014 5:27:25 GMT -5
I hope to move to Hawaii next year. If I do, an instant Hawaii fan.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Apr 25, 2014 15:35:03 GMT -5
UH's Averill, 2 others with local ties named All-Americans
By Star-Advertiser staff
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Apr 25, 2014
University of Hawaii junior middle blocker Taylor Averill, along with two others with Hawaii ties, were named to the first team of the AVCA Division I-II All-America teams.
Averill is UH's first All-American since Jonas Umlauft was a first-team selection in 2010 and 2011.
Joining Averill on the first team were USC's Micah Christenson (Kamehameha) and Long Beach State's Taylor Crabb (Punahou).
USC's Henry Cassiday and Pepperdine's Josh Taylor, both Punahou alums, were named to the second team.
UH opposite Brook Sedore was named to honorable mention.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Apr 25, 2014 15:35:19 GMT -5
I hope to move to Hawaii next year. If I do, an instant Hawaii fan. welcome to the fold if you do !!
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