Box Score

HONOLULU – Junior AVCA Player of the Year Costas Theocharidis carried the “Men of War” to an upset of No. 2 UCLA, putting down 29 kills on 63 swings as the Warriors pulled even with the Bruins in second place in the MPSF standings with the 19-30, 30-26, 30-16, 30-25, at the Stan Sheriff Center tonight.

Theocharidis warmed-up for his big night with four kills in game one as Hawai'i fell to UCLA, 19-30 after being outhit, .389 to .079. Game two saw the two-time All-MPSF outside hitter go ballistic, smashing 13 kills as the Warriors outhit UCLA this time, .450 to .345. Over the next two sets, Theocharidis would record 12 more kills to keep the Hawai'i attack rolling. The 29 kills was the matches his third highest kill total of the season. He had 33 kills in a road upset of then-No. 2 Stanford and posted 32 in a loss at current No. 1 Pepperdine two weeks ago.

The Greek native's hot hitting allowed sophomore setter Kimo Tuyay to get the other Warriors swinging as well. Senior All-American middle Dejan Miladinovic matched his season-high with 13 kills in 22 attempts. Miladinovic hit .455 while also putting-up three total blocks. Fellow middle Delano Thomas also enjoyed a solid evening, registering eight kills with just one attack error in 17 total swings to record a .412 attack percentage. Thomas also had a team-high seven blocks and three service aces.

Tuyay surpassed the 50-assist plateau for the sixth time this year, distributing 53 assists to lift the Warriors to a .314 hitting percentage. The 2001 MPSF Co-Freshman of the Year also had five blocks and two kills, including a dink shot that found the floor on match point.

The Warriors and Bruins battle again tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. in the Stan Sheriff Center. The match will be televised live, state-wide on K5, “The Home Team.” Rainbow Sports Radio (1420 AM) will also carry the match live. Both broadcasts will be available via the internet through the Warrior Volleyball website, at http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu.