Box Score

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Hawaii freshman reserve setter Daniel Rasay came-off the bench and energized the Warrior attack over the final two sets to spark his second-ranked squad past host and fourth-ranked Penn State, 30-26, 27-30, 35-33, 30-27, in the semifinals of the 2002 NCAA Men's Volleyball Final Four before a vocal crowd of 5,259 at Recreation Hall.

Rasay, a 6-foot-2 talent from Kailua-Kona on the Big Island, entered in game three following a Hawaii timeout with the score deadlocked at 23-23. Over the remainder of the set Rasay got the Warrior attack back on track, dishing-out seven assists to help Hawaii register the 11 points it needed for the victory. The Warriors finished the third set with a .538 team hitting percentage, keyed by junior Costas Theocharidis' eight kills.

In the fourth and final set, Rasay continued to keep the Warrior attackers swinging with confidence, as Hawaii outhit the Nittany Lions, .345 to .132 in the set. Theocharidis again carried the brunt of the load, putting-down six more kills to help extinguish Penn State's title hopes.

Theocharidis finished the evening with a team-high 25 kills in 52 swings for a .365 attack percentage, adding seven total blocks to the outstanding effort.

Senior Dejan Miladinovic was a dominant force at the net in the national semifinal, matching his season-high of 12 total blocks while spurring the Warriors to a season-high 24.5 total team blocks.

Miladinovic's counterpart in the middle, Delano Thomas had his finest outing as a collegian in tonight's Final Four match, recording career high's in kills (12) and blocks (7), while hitting .588.

Senior libero Vernon Podlewski displayed stellar digging and passing, recording an amazing 15 diving, rolling and sprinting digs to lead all players. The double-digit dig performance was the eigth of the season for the All-MPSF performer from Haliimaile, Maui.

The Warriors claimed the first set behind the blocking and hitting of All-Americans Miladinovic and Theocharidis. National blocking leader Miladinovic was a force in game one, recording five block assists. Theocharidis, who earned first-team All-America honors for the third time this season, had a team-high six kills, hitting .333 in 12 total swings.

After battling it out with the Nittany Lions early in the set, the Warriors pulled-away after coming out of the media timeout with a 15-12 advantage, pushing their lead to six points late in the game, much of which came on a three point run behind the effective float serves of setter Kimo Tuyay.

Game two saw Penn State seize control late, taking their first late lead at 21-20. Hawaii had controlled the tempo for much of the set, leading since the two teams were tied 3-3 early in game two. Hawaii had its last lead at 20-19, following a cross-court kill by Theocharidis. Freshman Thomas came alive for the Warriors in game two, putting down four kills with no errors in five attempts for an .800 hitting percentage in the set.

The win by Hawaii gave Penn State its first home loss of 2002. The Nittany Lions went 15-0 at home this year.

The Warriors will meet a familiar foe in the NCAA title match in top-ranked Pepperdine. Hawaii played the Waves twice during the regular season and again in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship contest. A win by the Warriors in the title tilt will give the University of Hawaii its first national championship in any men's sport.

Rainbow Sports Radio, KCCN 1420 AM will carry Hawaii's National Championship match live, with Scott Robbs providing play-by-play. Internet listeners can link to the action through the University of Hawaii Athletics Website at http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu .

ESPN2 will televise the match live at 7:00 p.m. EDT, with Chris Marlowe handling play-by-play duties, and Heather Cox providing color commentary.