Warriors/Waves match 1

[Barefoot In Kailua]

govolley20 said:

Way to go Waves!

Perhaps I spoke too soon. Great performance by Winters. His play and Pepperdine's Block was the difference in the Match.

Awesome defense on both sides of the net, Wow suprising seeing so many digs in a men's match, these guys were banging the Hell out of the ball.

Solid win for the Waves .

Winters is a solid player, But I still say Costas is the better player ( of course I'm partial to the home team )Costas can take over the match when he has too. Didn't tonight, but he has that ability.

I won't be standing in that apology line crusin


Nordberg played one heck of a match. It's nice to see him making an impact for the Warriors.

It should be another Battle on Friday, hopefully with better results.

[HwnStunner01]

PEPPERDINE
YES...Fred Winters can put the HAMMER down. He was the difference tonight because he came through when Pepperdine needed a kill. NO Winters doesn't hit as hard as Theocharidis, but YES, Winters IS on the same level on the college scene and did out play Theocharidis. He was one of the players that stood out. Too bad he's from Canada...could be a big time player at the next level. YES...Pepperdine looks to be the #1 team in the country. If they play like how they have, they could seriously end up with ONLY 3-4 losses on the year ( or less ). But, NO, they aren't unbeatable.

BTW, what is Keenan chewing on all game? It looked like he had 4 or 5 pieces of gum in his mouth???


HAWAII
NO, Hawaii didn't win, but they put up a fight. YES Hawaii CAN play with Pepperdine and I don't care what anyone says, Hawaii can beat Pepperdine and the scores prove Hawaii can stay with them. The Pepperdine block and the trio of Winters, Keenan, and Rooney, along with some key kills from Hein made it difficult for UH to win any set. Theocharidis had a great night, and I would say Hawaii hitters did well. Too bad though, Pepperdine just seems to have the extra push at the end of each set.

Anyway, this match was awesome from a fan's view. Two big time teams going at it. Tonight's match is what volleyball is about, and even though UH lost, I'm sure every UH fan will agree. Friday's match will be even better. Can't wait.

Pepp Fans 1
HwnStunner 0

[roy]

Just got back from the game. All in all, I wasn't too disappointed. True, Hawaii did lose, but it was great volleyball all around. Just a couple of thoughts on this. First Hawaii. I dont know what happened, but Costas wasn't Costas until game 3. He didn't do too much in terms of kills. But all the other players did step up their game a little. The biggest problem that Hawaii is having is their lack of consistency. Hawaii had a real tough time playing all the time. In games two and three, Hawaii gave up some easy points in the first few plays. That really hurt them, considering how close all the games were.

But all in all, Hawaii is playing much better than they did against Stanford or Northridge. I think Wilton has found his line up and can use this through the rest of the season. The chemistry with the players is very good. I like Brian Norberg in the line up. He gets a lot of good kills and makes himself available to the setter. True, he's not 6'10 but he was going eye to eye with Pepperdine's other middle and getting some nice touches on the ball. Near the end of the fourth game, Costas is showing us POY type plays. He was getting almost every set and putting them down, with the exception of match point when he hit out. But almost all the sets were going to him and he found the court. He is really looking like the player that won POY in 2001.

As far as Pepperdine, they are the team to beat. No, they are not unbeatable, but an opposing team has to beat them because they will not beat themselves. Very low error volleyball, which I was really impressed with. They hustle for the ball. I love their setter. True, he's not Beau Daniels, but this guy dove over a table and TV monitor to dig a ball. Additionally, everyone talks about their blocking but this is a team that can dig the ball. Their height allows them to reach for a lot of balls and they somehow manage a good transition game even if the dig isn't perfect.

Rooney and Keenan were great as usual. Winters...well, he's not great but I think VBCruisin's description of "Quiet Assassin" really describes him. He's somewhere between a role player and star. Keenan and Rooney are the go-to players on the team while the new guys have accepted their roles as auxilary players. Winters is neither but perfect for his job.

As a side note, Marv did a great job in scouting Costas. They really got on him. He didn't get a kill until mid way through the first game. I dont think anyone in the nation can stop him, but they did slow him down.

All in all, it was some great volleyball and even though Hawaii didn't win, it was a great show for the fans. Friday will be awesome. Both teams will make the necessary adjustments and I think the games will be even closer than tonight.

[V]

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Ten minutes after last night's 24-30, 30-28, 30-26, 30-28 men's volleyball loss to top-ranked Pepperdine, Hawai'i coach Mike Wilton paced the back hallway of the Stan Sheriff Center, poring over the final statistics for clues of this latest whodunit.

"I like how we're playing, how hard we're playing ..." said Wilton, his voice dissolving into a whisper, "but we just weren't steady enough. No, make that, they were basically steadier than us. That was it."

In this rematch of last year's NCAA championship match, the defending national champion Warriors were able to partially solve Pepperdine's complex schemes.

The Warriors handled middle blocker Brad Keenan's blistering serves — he erred six times — but could not navigate around his blocks. They limited Sean Rooney, last year's NCAA Freshman of the Year, to a hitting percentage of .229, but had no answer for Fred Winters, who hammered 21 of his 24 kills in the final three games. And the Warriors discovered how quickly their offense can depreciate by going too often to their money player, outside hitter Costas Theocharidis.

As a result, the second-ranked Warriors fell to 10-5 overall, 6-5 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and farther behind in their chase for a high seeding in the league's postseason tournament.

The Waves, by winning their 12th in a row, improved to 13-1 and 11-0.

"We played with a lot of effort, and at times we were shining nicely as a team, but we really needed to win," UH outside hitter Tony Ching said. "We're at that point where we can't lose any more (matches) if we want to make it back to the final four. Every (match) is big for us. It's time to step up and play."

Early in the match, the Warriors found success with quick back sets to middle blocker Delano Thomas, an offensive tweak that did not show up in scouting reports. "We didn't have much success stopping him," Pepperdine coach Marv Dunphy said. "I thought they would keep running the middle because they were having so much success."

Instead, when the Warriors were forced to play catch-up in the middle games, and then out of desperation in the fourth game, the offense tilted toward Theocharidis, who finished with 65 kill attempts. Theocharidis led the Warriors with 25 kills — as well as 11 hitting errors.

"I thought we got a little predictable," Wilton said. "I thought we set too many balls to Costas when (the Waves) were bailing out and leaving everyone else alone. They would leave our middle early and we'd still set it outside. But that's something we'll try to correct."

Theocharidis theorized the Waves, who were facing the Warriors for the fifth time in a year, figured out "our hitting patterns. We've played them so many times, they know us."

Pepperdine's Winters agreed, saying, "We know all about them and they know all about us. That's why we always play such close games."

It was no secret the Waves would try to construct an imposing block. The Waves lead the nation in blocking, and the

6-foot-8 Keenan, who averages 2.34 blocks per game, is recognized as the country's best middle. The Waves' average hitter is 6 feet 7, more than 3 inches taller than the average UH hitter. Theocharidis, at 6 feet 3, is UH's tallest perimeter hitter.

The Waves amassed 13.5 blocks, and they frequently forced the Warriors to alter their swings. Thomas, who usually connects off vertical jumps, relied on lateral moves. Ching had little success with his speciality, swings from behind the 3-meter line, where he has more freedom than when he attacks near the net.

"I don't think we blocked as many balls as we normally do, but we put up a good block," Winters said. "They had to hit around us. It made it easier for us."

In particular, setter John Mayer said, Keenan forced the Warriors to choose Plan B.

"When you have Brad up there, guys shy away," Mayer said. "It's so much easier on defense when you have a block like ours."

The teams meet tomorrow.

Box Score w/ play-by-play summary
uhathletics.hawaii.edu/media/Stats/Vball/PEPP-1.HTM

[spikemaster]

Pepperdine all the way!!! Keenan and Rooney are too much for the Rainbows.

[Psychopotamus]

I give up with MPSF matches already. They are wonderful when your team wins, and dismal when your team loses. I'm going to Tiajuana, be back for the tournament.

[VBCrusin]

Don't leave and give up Not Richee,

The BEST is yet to come. After Friday night's loss to Pepperdine , I predict that Hawaii will win all the rest of their games of the season (12 games) before the MPSF tournament.

Aloha Dude.

[WaveRider]

Well Good Morning! What a match last night! I was lucky enough to be able to watch the games on the internet broadcast (since I wasn't lucky enough to be in Hawaii).

Anyways, I was so impressed by both sides last night! Like someone mentioned before, the number of digs and long rallies were very impressive, especially considering the force and power of the hitting (on both sides).

As far as Friday night goes, Pepperdine is going to have to keep their level up... Hawaii is out to impress the hometown fans. I do however like the fact that Mike Gledhill wasn't as "on" as he can be... and Rooney's hitting percentage could be higher. On the same note, Costas wasn't quite the same player I remember from last year. It will be a VERY heated match on Friday.

Hopefully Winters can keep his numbers up there, and maybe Keenan can lose a few of his service errors and put a few more in the aces column (I know he can).

1 Down, 1 To Go (at least for now)... GO PEPP!

[VBCrusin]

Hey WaveRider,

I agree with your assessment of the play. Gledhill is another "quiet assassin" when he gets a chance. He's easy to overlook especially when he plays along side Rooney, Keenan, and Winters. He'll do fine, given the chance and set.

Winters hit a blistering .449 with 24 kills. which means that he attempted 53 kills. Costas had 25 kills in 65 attempts. In my book, Winters was better than Costas, and to heck with past accomplishments.

As far as Rooney goes, he steps up as needed. The Pep squad is a great team who plays unselfishly together. They will go to whomever is the hot player at the time, but luckily, they spread out the sets to a well balanced team attack.

I love to see Hawaii and Pepperdine go at each other. These two are the most equally-paired teams in quite a while. On any given night, either one could be the winner, which is why I said, "See them both at the Finals." Hey...I wear California-Hawaiian shirts. How about you?

[VBCrusin]

Oh by the way, Keenan hasn't been hitting service aces (percentage) like in previous years. He hits a ton out of the ball in his serves, and watch out when he gets on a rampage. True, he had many service errors, but by the end of the season, he'll be his usual "quiet assassin" self.

[Manoa]

Hawaii served very well (better than Pepperdine)-- possibly the best I have seen from them across the lineup-- I thought if Hawaii served really tough Hawaii would win. But Pepperdine passed everything well enough to run their offense-- the setter was more athletic and got to the passes he needed to and made some nice sets-- Pepperdine spread things around to Winters (awesome), Rooney, and Keenan and Hawaii could not block them. Hawaii on the other hand was erratic in its passing and its ball control and floor game was if anything below Pepperdine's (Hawaii lost some of the long rallies). So other than service everything goes to Pepperdine-- hitting: Pepp wins and spreads it around more, blocking: Pepp definitely and their height was an advantage; passing: Pepp wins; and ball control overall-- even or slight advantage for Pepp. I don't see Hawaii able to neutralize Pepperdine's advantage in hitting and blocking (they can't serve too much better than they did).

[vballdoll]

Although I loved my 2x2 shaky, and constantly freezing webcast of last night’s match, it really hurt that I couldn’t be there to see the great play, by both teams, last night.

I agree that Friday night will be fierce and Pepperdine will have to fight for their life to come out with a win. Hawaii is down right now but they also know that they cannot afford to lose any more matches to have a fighting chance to make it to the big show.

Pepperdine is the better blocking team and there is not much most teams, especially a significantly, on-average, shorter team can do about that. If Pepp can clean up their serving and play like they did last night they should be able to pull out another win. But they will have to contend with Hawaii need for revenge. Everyone always talks about how emotional Hawaii’s team is and Friday night all of the guys should be playing like they are out for blood. They DO NOT want to lose and they are going to play like it. This unfortunately can either be a great advantage or their undoing.

Costas played extremely well. Fairly equal I would say to Fred Winters. Costas’ 25 kills vs Fred’s 24 kills but the big difference is Costas’ 11 errors vs Fred’s 2. Fred plays very smart and always keeps a level head but he can also start to second guess himself which is when he makes more errors. Costas doesn’t second guess his ability as much but he doesn’t play as even which is when he makes his errors. Hawaii will also need to spread the love a bit more and not rely on their one big gun.

Regardless of the outcome, it should be great volleyball! I wish I could be there.

[Bookumdanoaloha]

When the season started I knew Pepperdine had the best 1-2-3 punch in the Country. It seemed only VBCrusin and I gave kudos to Winters all season. I thought setting and passing would become a question mark. That was based on James Ka setting, and whoever at libero. Well, Marv has addressed those issues with fine replacements. Mayer has done an outstanding job all season, and credit Chip McCaw and Jim McLaughlin for his success. After watching the libero last nite, I think he's better than Olsen. Pepperdine's Block is "A Given", however, I was very impressed with Pepp's digging and passing. Credit the coaching staff for that. Pepperdine is not the dominant serving team it was last year, but they also have cut down their service errors (Keanan's service errors was a mystery, aka Final Four) The reason they are number one is because the have good (tall) talent and GREAT COACHING. It's hard to believe Marv has only 3 National Championships, you'd think he'd have more. Pepp and Hawaii should still be #1 and #2, but the gap between them is basically 2 to 3 points and it's widening. I always give 3 points to the home team in places like Stan Sheriff, Smith Field House, Malibu and Crawford Hall. This shows what a dominant team the Waves are. MPFS playoffs will be at Mailbu this year. When the playoffs start, everybody will have a "clean slate" and anything can happen. My "giant killers" is still Stanford and UCLA. Look forward to another close game friday nite. BOOKUMDANOALOHA.

[WaveRider]

Hey All... more specifically: Crusin, Bookum, Vballdoll & Manoa... I loved reading all your posts! So many good points brought up by everyone... it's so funny how we can break down who "should be" the winner... but that with Pepp vs. Hawaii so many factors could easily change that.

I think that on Friday night it will come down to this: EMOTION and how that affects each team. As we've all mentioned before Hawaii plays with emotion, but sometimes it makes them a little out of control... Pepp on the other hand (especially this year) plays with a little less... but more consistency it seems... what will the fire inside do on Friday? The big question remains.

While last night's game showed that Pepp can dig the ball, I will have to admit that it was one of their best showings and I think we're going to have to keep it at that level from here on out.

Also, as stated many times before, Pepp needs to get our serving down to a science... Hawaii is the better serving team (even though their total number of aces didn't show it last night).

Everything else remains to be seen... Pepp is the better blocking team (being that much taller will do that), but if Costas is playing better or Hawaii is able to spread out their sets as well as Pepp did last night... Pepp is in for a wild ride. Obviously if the hitting connections are there, Hawaii will spread out its sets (theirs setters are REALLY smart), especially after the effective blocking that Pepperdine showed... however, like I mentioned before... while Winters Rooney and Keenan are always there... if Hein has another great game and Gledhill plays like he has before... Pepperdine will be unstoppable!

Okay, this post has gone long enough... I just had to say something... I couldn't leave you guys hanging!

GO PEPP!

[Psychopotamus]

And the ammount of variables on who wins increases. Momentumn is more important than ever. One benefit of rally scoring: it leaves a whole lot more room for us armchair coaches to speculate on the would've, should've, could've.