Box Score

LONG BEACH, Calif. - The second-ranked Warriors returned to their winning ways tonight with a four-game victory over No. 5 Long Beach State 30-23, 30-22, 36-38, 30-22, thanks largely to double-double efforts by seniors Tony Ching and Costas Theocharidis at the Pyramid.

Ching, a 6-foot-2 hitter from Honolulu, led Hawaii with 19 kills while also posting 10 digs for his second double-double performance of the season. Theocharidis, the 2001 American Volleyball Coaches Association Player of the Year, rebounded from a sub-par performance at UC Irvine last weekend to post 17 kills and a match-high 11 digs in the win.

Sophomore middle Delano Thomas enjoyed another fine outing, with 12 kills and five blocks on a .500 attack percentage. Thomas combined with junior middle Joshua Stanhiser (6 k, .556 pct., 5 blocks) to give Hawaii a presence at the net. Hawaii overcame a sluggish start out of the gate to storm back and win game one behind six kills by All-American Theocharidis after opening the contest with a 9-13 deficit. The "Men of War," being out hit .769-to-.200 at that point, rallied out of their timeout to even the game at 13 apiece, running-off four straight points, capped by Theocharidis' second kill. Warrior junior setter Kimo Tuyay helped Hawaii take game one by directing them to a .500 team attack percentage the remainder of the way, putting-down 10 kills with just one error in 18 attempts. Hawaii middles Thomas and Stanhiser were effective attacking from the middle, combining for four kills in six swings in the game.

The Warriors remained hot early in the second game, hitting .375 to lead Long Beach State, 15-8 at the midway point. The Warriors took advantage of 49er woes to build a sizeable lead as well. Long Beach State attacked at a negative .222 clip, with two kills and four errors in nine attempts, while also committing three service errors and two service reception errors. Hawaii out hit the 49ers, .375-to-.222 to take a two game advantage, with senior outside hitters Theocharidis and Tony Ching leading the charge with four kills each. Thomas also proved to be a big factor in game two, recording three service aces, three kills and four block assists.

The 49ers showed a lot of tenacity in winning game three, 38-36, to extend the match to a fourth frame. Long Beach setter Tyler Hildebrand went to ace Scott Touzinsky 16 times in game three, and was rewarded as the 6-foot-7 outside hitter from St. Louis, Mo. put-down a game-high 11 kills to push his match total to 21. Touzinsky hit .625 in leading the 49ers to a .465 team attack percentage. Ching had seven kills to top the Warriors' game-three effort, while Theocharidis added five more of his own. Both teams exhibited admirable resolve in game three, as the two squads battled through nine game points before Long Beach emerged to capture their first game of the evening.

In game four, the Warriors regained their control of the match as Theocharidis, Ching and Thomas again pushed the tempo. The trio combined to record 13 kills in the final game as Hawaii out hit the 49ers, .375-to-.235.