Box Score

HONOLULU - Warrior sophomore Delano Thomas enjoyed the finest night of his young collegiate career tonight, recording personal bests in kills (16) and blocks (13) as Hawaii took care of Lewis, 37-35, 30-22, 25-30, 30-24, at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Thomas, a 6-foot-7 middle from Sacramento, Calif., was dominant throughout the night as he posted a .500 attack percentage and posted the highest individual block total by a Warrior player since former Hawaii All-American Dejan Miladinovic had 14 against USC two years ago. Thomas opened the evening by attacking at a perfect 1.000 clip with 13 kills and no errors through the first three games. The U.S. Junior National Team member was a force in this series with Lewis, averaging 4.00 kills and an amazing 2.43 blocks per game.

Senior outside hitters Costas Theocharidis and Tony Ching put-down 18 kills apiece to lead the Warrior attack. Theocharidis hit .324 and added 10 digs to contribute to the victory. Ching fell one short of matching his career high for kills, hitting a blistering .533 in 30 swings.

Warrior captain Eyal Zimet posted his first double-double of the season, producing 11 kills and a team-high 12 digs for yet another well-rounded effort. Junior middle Joshua Stanhiser helped Hawaii outblock the Flyers, 19-to-10 with six block assists.

Hawaii repeatedly withstood a number of Lewis rallies during the match to improve to 2-0 on the young season. Game one saw the Warriors and Flyers battle well into extra swings, with Hawaii taking the set, 37-35. Thomas, Theocharidis and Ching combined for 19 kills in the game to overcome 13 kills by Lewis All-American Fabiano Barreto. Barreto finished with a match-high 24 kills.

In game two the Warriors pulled away from a 9-9 deadlock to take a 2-0 lead with the 30-22 victory. The third set saw Lewis put together a strong effort and push the match to a fourth set, thanks largely to a .516 team attack percentage.

Hawaii junior setter Kimo Tuyay returned from a brief breather in game three to ignite the Warrior offense to a .414 attack percentage. After dropping the third game, Hawaii rallied to take a 4-0 lead in game four and never looked back, taking the frame, 30-24.

Coach Mike Wilton and his troops return to action next weekend in the 9th annual Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Invitational. The top early season men's volleyball tournament in the nation will feature three of the teams from last year's NCAA Final Four in Penn State, Ball State and Hawaii. Shanghai Oriental, a team from China, will complete the 2003 Invitational field. The Outrigger Invitational will run from Jan. 16 to the 18th, with two matches slated for each day beginning at 5:00 p.m.