Volleyball coach reinstates suspended players

[Noname]

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

University of Hawai‘i men’s volleyball coach Mike Wilton today reinstated the four players who were suspended for last week’s matches against top-ranked Brigham Young.
Opposite hitter Pedro Azenha, left-side hitter Delano Thomas, outside hitter/primary passer José José Delgado and backup middle blocker Dionisio Dante were suspended from competition for violating an unspecified team rule during a recent road trip.

The four refused to disclose the infraction before yesterday’s practice. Thomas declined to comment on his situation, but Delgado said, "I'm happy to be back."

Azenha said: "All four of us are sorry. We have to forget about it and practice hard."

Dante added: "I realized I made a mistake and I want to make up for it."

Wilton said the players who started against BYU will remain as the No. 1 unit for now.

"They’re back," Wilton said of the four, "and they need to understand there’s a new order going on, something special that we like a lot.

"What you see on the court — the enthusiasm — that’s not going to change. That’s how it is. ... (The four are) going to start from scratch. The guys who started (against BYU) are going to start."

Wilton said he will consider changes "if we see somebody, through his play or demeanor, who can elevate the play of the players around them."

After losing both matches to BYU, Wilton recalled, "Some people have said to me, 'You know, we don’t think you put a player on the floor who would have started for BYU.' Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know. The important thing to notice out of this is, whoever the guys were that we put out on the floor, they played at a level greater than the sum of the parts. That’s synergy. That’s a wonderful thing. It’s magic. That’s what we’re looking for."

Wilton said senior Kimo Tuyay, who started in place of ailing Brian Beckwith against BYU, also will remain in the starting lineup. Tuyay started the previous three seasons before suffering an ankle injury in fall training camp and ceding the job to Beckwith.

[warriordudette88]

i think that all of the starters will eventually get back in to the starting lineup. i do believe though, that it will not be easy for them to do so. they'll need to pick it up a notch because i don't think wilton will make it easy for them.

[StuffU]

I think Thomas will definitely make it back in to the lineup. But I don't think Azenha will make it back as easily .... especially if he is up against the "emotional sparkplug", Matt Bender.

The starter that I think will have a difficult time finding his way back into the lineup is Delgado. He has been very "on and off" and streaky in all facets of his game .. passing, serving, hitting, digging ... I think Jeschke (or even Bender) could remain in the lineup in his position.

[socalfan]

Here's Wilton's problem.
If he starts the players from the BYU games against Cal Baptist the team is going to win. Then he will have to start them again against Long Beach.

If he wants Delano or Pedro in the lineup against The Beach, he better make the change now. It's going to be very unpopular descsion after two wins.

I think he should replace Delano for Josh in the middle and keep the rest of the players the same. Pedro will probably quit the team again.

My prediction is Wilton will have all the suspended players and Beckwith back in the line up for the Long Beach game.
He's too scared of losing his job instead of stepping up for ethics.

[kolohekeiki]

socalfan said:

Here's Wilton's problem.
If he starts the players from the BYU games against Cal Baptist the team is going to win. Then he will have to start them again against Long Beach.

If he wants Delano or Pedro in the lineup against The Beach, he better make the change now. It's going to be very unpopular descsion after two wins.

I think he should replace Delano for Josh in the middle and keep the rest of the players the same. Pedro will probably quit the team again.

My prediction is Wilton will have all the suspended players and Beckwith back in the line up for the Long Beach game.
He's too scared of losing his job instead of stepping up for ethics.

I don't think that Delano should be put back in the middle for Joshua Stanheiser. Joshua Stanheiser has been playing excellent this season and has really improved from last season. Josh and Mauli`a have been the only consistent players thus far this season.

If they got more sets in the middle they would be unstoppable. As you can see, Joshua Stanheiser leads the nation in kill percentage and he is the top blocker on the team.

Josh Stanheiser is one of the reasons why the Warriors have had success this season. He has really stepped up his play from last year.

So in my opinion Josh is the last one that should be replaced.

[vbfan]

My prediction is Wilton will have all the suspended players and Beckwith back in the line up for the Long Beach game.
He's too scared of losing his job instead of stepping up for ethics

I have to respectfully disagree, if anything Wilton strikes me as a no-nonsense type of coach who sometimes takes discipline a little too far. I think he suspended some starters in the 2001 national championship season for breaking team rules. If all he really about were wins and losses this whole deal about breaking team rules probably wouldn't have been made public and they would have played against BYU. I applaud Wilton's desire to instill some discipline into his players, everyone has to learn that there are consequences to your actions.

[808empath]

kolohekeiki said:

I don't think that Delano should be put back in the middle for Joshua Stanheiser. Joshua Stanheiser has been playing excellent this season and has really improved from last season. Josh and Mauli`a have been the only consistent players thus far this season.

If they got more sets in the middle they would be unstoppable. As you can see, Joshua Stanheiser leads the nation in kill percentage and he is the top blocker on the team.

Josh Stanheiser is one of the reasons why the Warriors have had success this season. He has really stepped up his play from last year.

So in my opinion Josh is the last one that should be replaced.

I think so on this part to, I mean compared to last season, he has really stepped itup, and kicked it into another gear... Go Warriors...

[socalfan]

ncaavbfan,

Lets not kid ourselves. If the the match against BYU was a playoff match, The suspended players would have started.

This was a good time for Wilton to show a little discipline. He knew his chances against BYU were not very good so he suspends the starters and he know he is not going to get criticized for losing.

[warriordudette88]

kolohekeiki said:

I don't think that Delano should be put back in the middle for Joshua Stanheiser. Joshua Stanheiser has been playing excellent this season and has really improved from last season. Josh and Mauli`a have been the only consistent players thus far this season.

If they got more sets in the middle they would be unstoppable. As you can see, Joshua Stanheiser leads the nation in kill percentage and he is the top blocker on the team.

Josh Stanheiser is one of the reasons why the Warriors have had success this season. He has really stepped up his play from last year.

So in my opinion Josh is the last one that should be replaced.

josh has really stepped up his game this year. i don't think that they need to switch delano back to middle blocker. i don't think that wilton suspended the players because it was regular season...i believe that if he needed to he would suspend them regardless of what point in the season they were in. it depends on what they did in the first place.

*the advertiser article in today's paper said that jake is still playing outside and that daniel rasay was practicing at opposite, the position he played in high school. arri and maulia both have tweaked ankles, arri was on crutches...things could get interesting this week.

[instig8tr]

socalfan does not know Wilton at all. Just because you are scared that the starting lineup will return against LBSU doesnt mean you have to take it out on Wilton. Whether the match agaist BYU was playoffs or not, the players broke team/school rules...Wilton would have suspended them either way. If you knew Wilton, as I do, you would know that. And his job is definitely not on the line in any way.
As for him taking discipline too far??? You are just comparing that to the fact that no other coachs publicly discipline their teams.
These kids are young and make mistakes...if they dont see the errors of their ways now they are ignorant. They will understand when they are older.
Wilton liked the team effort he saw against BYU...if that can continue with the suspended players in the lineup...then so be it.

[Noname]

4 Warriors reinstated; two starters injured

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

For the University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team, the good news is four players yesterday were reinstated after serving two-match suspensions against Brigham Young last week for violating an unspecified team rule during a recent road trip.

The not-so-good news is two starters — middle blocker Mauli'a LaBarre and outside hitter Arri Jeschke, a replacement for one of the suspended players — did not compete in yesterday's 2 1/2-hour practice because of injuries. LaBarre, who has a sprained left ankle, and Jeschke, who was on crutches with a badly bruised left foot, are hopeful of returning for Friday's match against Cal Baptist.

Of the two injuries, Jeschke's is more serious. "It's sore, and I can't walk (on it) yet," said Jeschke, who suffered the injury when he tripped during pre-match warmups last Saturday.

After a one-hour meeting yesterday morning, UH coach Mike Wilton reinstated opposite hitter Pedro Azenha, left-side hitter Delano Thomas, outside hitter/primary passer José José Delgado and backup middle blocker Dionisio Dante. They again refused to say which team rule they violated.

Thomas declined to comment on his situation, but Azenha said, "all four of us are sorry. We have to forget about it and practice hard."

Dante said: "I realized I made a mistake and I want to make up for it."

Delgado added: "I'm happy to be back."

Azenha, Thomas and Delgado were starters before the suspensions. Wilton said they are "going to start from scratch. The guys who started (against BYU) are going to start."

That means senior Kimo Tuyay, who played in place of ailing Brian Beckwith, also remains in the starting lineup. While recovering from tonsillitis, Beckwith was available only as a serving specialist for the rematch against BYU.

Beckwith, a freshman, is healthy. But Wilton said: "Kimo, right now, has given us a leadership that should be inherent with the years he's been in the program. We like what's going on out on the floor right now. That's not a slam on Brian. Brian is capable of doing that."

Tuyay was the Warriors' starting setter for three seasons before suffering a severe ankle sprain during fall camp in November. Beckwith then replaced Tuyay as the starter.

"I just want to keep playing," Tuyay said. "Hopefully, I can help this team win some games."

Because LaBarre was unavailable to practice yesterday, Thomas rejoined the first team — at middle blocker, a position he played the previous two seasons. Azenha, Delgado and Dante were on the second team, which defeated the starters, 31-29, in a scrimmage.

Wilton said Thomas moved from the outside to the middle "to help us out in practice." As to whether the move might be a future option, Wilton said, "I'm considering anything that's going to help us do well."

Wilton wasn't done tinkering. Libero Jake Muise was used as an outside hitter on the first team, essentially providing a lineup of two defensive specialists. Backup setter Daniel Rasay, a fourth-year junior, played opposite hitter for the first time since his senior season at Konawaena High.

"I tried to do the best I could," Rasay said. "It took a while to get used to it. I'm still not completely comfortable. Wherever coach wants to put me, I'll try to help the team from there."

Wilton said: "There are a lot of possibilities in the wind right now."

Wilton said he wants the Warriors to maintain the enthusiasm displayed by the makeshift lineup against BYU.

After losing both matches to BYU, Wilton recalled: "Some people have said to me, 'You know, we don't think you put a player on the floor who would have started for BYU.' Whether that's true or not, I don't know. The important thing to notice out of this is, whoever the guys were that we put out on the floor, they played at a level greater than the sum of the parts. That's synergy. That's a wonderful thing. It's magic. That's what we're looking for."

[socalfan]

You guys/gals kill me if you think Wilton would have suspended those players if it were a playoff game.

For the record, I want the second team to start. If you have read my posts in the past, you would have know that I perfer the second teams emotions rather then the previous starters, who have NO HEART.

[beachman]

instig8tr said:

socalfan does not know Wilton at all. Just because you are scared that the starting lineup will return against LBSU doesnt mean you have to take it out on Wilton. Whether the match agaist BYU was playoffs or not, the players broke team/school rules...Wilton would have suspended them either way. If you knew Wilton, as I do, you would know that. And his job is definitely not on the line in any way.
As for him taking discipline too far??? You are just comparing that to the fact that no other coachs publicly discipline their teams.
These kids are young and make mistakes...if they dont see the errors of their ways now they are ignorant. They will understand when they are older.
Wilton liked the team effort he saw against BYU...if that can continue with the suspended players in the lineup...then so be it.

I l;think that it is unfair to insinuate that LBS fans are mad or scared that the starters will, apparently, all be back on the court when we come to the island in a couple of weeks.....I think that the issue here is "level playing field", and it would have been nice for LBS to have had the same "advantage" that BYU had when they played them last week, that's all! Everyone is fighting for 2nd place right now, because it really looks like no one will be able to catch BYU....Home court advantage is important in the playoffs, that's for sure, and who knows what would have happened of UH had beaten BYU twice last week,,,,,,new ballgame??

[lalalaluuuke]

Beachman said:

I l;think that it is unfair to insinuate that LBS fans are mad or scared that the starters will, apparently, all be back on the court when we come to the island in a couple of weeks.....I think that the issue here is "level playing field", and it would have been nice for LBS to have had the same "advantage" that BYU had when they played them last week.

I think the old starting lineup would have gotten beat worse than the current one because the emotional urgency would have been absent. I think they would have been lucky to do as well as they did with the old lineup. BYU wasn't able to scout them like they normally would have.

Part of the sport is changing conditions and environment from week to week. What if BYU had Gorny and Burke when they lost 3 out of their first 4 games? They might be on a 20 game win streak and undefeated. But talking about what-ifs doesn't change anything. They are nice thoughts, but that's about it.

I'm not saying you're wrong for bringing it up, I just think teams have to deal with the cards they're dealt otherwise they won't play up to their potential and then start complaining about something else. I think LBSU will be fine at UH if they keep playing consistent volleyball. The 2 seed is theirs to lose.

BYU has to lose 3 games for LBSU to overtake them because the 2 BYU victories over LBSU win the tiebreaker. It will be an interesting finish to see how the 2, 3, & 4 seeds shake out and then see who grabs the 7 and 8 spots. I wouldn't be surprised to see USC step up and grab it. They have been playing better ball as of late. I haven't seen their remaining schedule though and that will be a factor.