Box Score
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Hawaii freshman outside hitter
Jose Delgado enjoyed the finest outing of his young collegiate career, putting-down a season-high 19 kills on a .552 attack percentage to lead the Men of War to their seventh consecutive road win of this season, 30-27, 30-26, 30-22, over UC Santa Barbara in a homecoming for Hawaii head coach Mike Wilton.
Delgado, a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, got-off to a hot start, recording six kills with no errors in nine attempts (.667) in game one as Hawaii battled past the Gauchos to win, 30-27. Game one proved to be the most competitive of the night, as the Warriors and Gauchos were tied 10 times during the set. Delgado recorded seven kills in game two before committing his first attacking error of the night, hitting long on his 22nd swing of the night, halfway through game three.
Hawaii sophomore setter Kimo Tuyay did a fine job distributing the attacks tonight, with three Warriors recording double-digit kill totals, as the team hit .452 on the match. Costas Theocharidis matched Delgado's 19 kills, while junior captain Eyal Zimet had 13 kills, while hitting .455.
The return to the UC Santa Barbara campus was an especially fond one for Warrior head coach Wilton, who grew-up in Santa Barbara while watching his late father Willie craft a Hall of Fame career as head men's basketball coach for the Gauchos. Willie Wilton, served as UCSB men's coach from 1937-1957, posting a 265-167 (.557) record, the best of any basketball coach in the history of the program. The elder Wilton is honored with the rest of the Gaucho Hall of Fame honorees at the entrance of Robertson Gym, where the Warriors defeated the Gauchos tonight.
Two other Warriors-junior middle blocker Brian Nordberg and libero Vernon Podlewski-are also familiar with the Santa Barbara area. Nordberg transferred to Hawaii after playing two years at UC Santa Barbara, while Podlewski played two seasons at City College of Santa Barbara before making the return home.
Hawaii continues its road trip tomorrow against the Gauchos, with game time set for 7:00 p.m. The match will be broadcast back to the 50th state on KCCN (1420 AM). Internet listeners can access the broadcast by Scott Robbs through the UH Athletics website, at http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu.
