Box Score

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Warrior senior outside hitters Costas Theocharidis and Tony Ching led five Hawaii starters with double-digit kill totals, as the national champions posted a .426 team attack percentage in taking care of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rival UCLA, 22-30, 30-22, 30-24, 30-23, at Pauley Pavillion tonight.

Theocharidis carried the brunt of the load for Hawaii, with a match-high 25 kills in 44 attempts for a .477 attack percentage. The three-time All-American opened his evening with seven kills in the first game. Theocharidis went errorless in 11 attempts to put-up a .636 hitting percentage as Hawaii fell behind a game. The Warriors fell behind early in the opening set and could not put together any sizeable runs, chasing the Bruins, who led at 5-4 and never looked back. Both squads came out of the gates swinging, with the hosts out-slugging the Warriors, .645-to-517. Both teams committed just four attack errors in 60 attempts between them, as both offenses were firing on all cylinders.

Ching took over for Theocharidis in game two, exploding for nine kills in as many swings to maintain a perfect 1.000 attack percentage through the first two games. The 6-foot-2 Honolulu native led the way as the Warriors out-hit UCLA, .367-to-.200 in the frame. The game went point-for-point up until the midway point, with Hawaii leading 15-13. The Warriors quickly put some space between themselves and the Bruins with a 5-2 run thanks to two Ching kills, a Delano Thomas kill, two points by Theocharidis, and an Eyal Zimet block solo. The Bruin attack was side-tracked in game two, as they slipped to a .200 team hitting percentage.

Greek National Team member Theocharidis came back to life in the third game, leading all attackers with eight kills in 15 attempts. Once again, the Warriors and Bruins traded points in the early going before Theocharidis keyed a Hawaii three-point run with a pair of kills. The "Men of War" maintained the advantage from then on, with three two-point runs and a three-point run down the stretch.

Game four saw a number of Warriors step forward at different times to give Hawaii just their third win at Pauley Pavilion. Senior middle Brian Nordberg got the Warriors off on the right foot, accounting for his team's first three points with kills from his middle blocker position. Thomas was the next Warrior to catch fire, recording all five points on three kills and a pair of block assists in one stretch, as Hawaii and UCLA traded eight points.

Next it was Ching, who took Hawaii on his back for four consecutive points on a service ace and three kills, as the Warriors pulled-out to a 15-10 lead. Theocharidis took the baton next, with three kills in a row of his own, as Hawaii kept its five point advantage at 18-13. Fittingly, Theocharidis and Ching finished-off game four together, tallying seven of Hawaii's final eight points of the match.

Thomas (12 kills), Zimet (11) and Nordberg (11), also recorded double-digit kill totals in the victory. Warrior middles Thomas and Nordberg also registered five blocks apiece to lead Hawaii, along with Ching. Team captain Zimet hit .409 while also matching libero Jake Muise for the team lead with nine defensive digs.

The Warriors and Bruins will take to the court again tomorrow night at Pauley Pavilion. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. Warrior fans looking to tune-in to the action can link to the Bruin webcast through the University of Hawaii athletics website at http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu.