Box Score
STOCKTON, Calif. – Hawaii freshman middle blocker
Delano Thomas came-off the bench to make his return to northern California a success, putting down eight kills and putting up three block assists over the final two games to give the Warriors a strong finishing kick in their road victory over a scrappy Pacific squad, 30-19, 30-25, 25-30, 30-27.
Thomas, a product of John F. Kennedy High School in nearby Sacramento, led all players with a .313 attack percentage in 16 total swings playing before a cozy contingent of his fans, which included his mother Kathleen.
After racing out to win the first two sets, the Warriors needed an extra spark to lift them to their third consecutive Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and Thomas provided it. After warming-up in the third set with five kills and a .833 hiting percentage, the 6-foot-7 middle put down three more in game four as the Warriors rebounded from a 25-30 third set loss.
The Warriors routed the Tigers, 30-19 in the opening game, as the Hawaii defense limited Pacific to a -.057 hitting percentage. Pacific committed12 hitting errors and eight service errors to account for the majority of the Warriors' scoring.
In the second game, Hawaii out-hit Pacific .344-to-.108 to move the match into the third set. The scrappy Tigers, who also stretched defending national champion BYU to four sets in their two losses to the Cougars, rebounded and regrouped to outhit Hawaii, .341-to-.067 and take game three.
But Thomas and the Warriors came-back strong in game four to seal the win and remain in first place in the powerful MPSF.
Hawaii All-American outside hitter Costas Theocharidis led the Warriors with 17 kills and 12 digs to post his 62nd double-digit kill outing in 63 collegiate contests. Junior captain Eyal Zimet had 11 kills of his own, hitting .304 to help the cause.
Hawaii finishes its road trip Saturday against the Tiger. Game time is set at 7:00 p.m., and will be broadcast back to the 50th state on KCCN (1420 AM). Internet listeners can access the broadcast through the UH Athletics website, at http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu.
