Box Score
HONOLULU – The Warrior volleyball team ripped-off its sixth consecutive win and remained unbeaten in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play with a sweep of UC San Diego, thanks largely to middle blockers
Brian Nordberg and
Delano Thomas, who combined to put-down 19 kills and put-up nine block assists.
Nordberg, a junior transfer from UC Santa Barbara, had one of his finest outings as a Warrior, hitting .600, with eight kills and a match-high six blocks. The 6-foot-5 middle blocker matched his season-high in kills and set a new personal standard with his six block assists.
Thomas tied his season-high with 11 kills, leading all players with a .786 attack percentage. Thomas had four kills in game one and five in game three, helping the Warriors out-hit the Tritons, .438-to-.141.
Redshirt freshman setter Daniel Rasay came-on in relief of starter Kimo Tuyay and kept the Warrior swinging, leading the team to a .407 attack percentage, with 32 kills in 54 attempts. Rasay had 30 assists in the win.
The play of Nordberg, Thomas and Rasay and the rest of the Warriors allowed coach Mike Wilton to rest several of his other starters. All-American outside hitter Costas Theocharidis took just eight swings in just over a game of action, while middle blocker Dejan Miladinovic and outside hitter Eyal Zimet were rested completely.
Jose Delgado, who led Hawai'i with 13 kills on the match, got-off to a hot start in game one, recording six kills in eight swings as the Warriors out-hit .500-to-negative .115 to take the first set, 30-15. In game two, UC San Diego put down 16 kills in 34 attacks but committed eight service errors as they fell behind two games by losing the second set, 30-26.
Rasay ignited the Warriors in the final game, assisting on 19 of his team's 20 kills in the set. Reserves Jake Muise and Ryan Woodward were inserted in the final set, as Hawai'i rolled to a 30-24 victory. Muise, normally a serving specialist and back-up libero, had threee kills in eight swings, while Woodward put-down a kill in his first action as a Warrior.
The Warriors return to action on Feb. 20 and 22, when they host MPSF foes Long Beach State. Both matches begin at 7:00 p.m.
