Box Score

HONOLULU - The second-ranked Warrior volleyball team used something old and something new to defeat Mountain Pacific Sports Federation foe Pacific tonight, as senior All-American Costas Theocharidis and freshman Pedro Azenha combined for 43 kills in Hawaii's 30-28, 30-22, 27-30, 30-25 defeat of the sixth-ranked Tigers.

Theocharidis, a native of Orestiada, Greece, played to his norm, leading all attackers with 28 kills in 53 swings. With just seven errors, the 2001 National Player of the Year hit .396, adding 11 digs to claim his fifth double-double effort of the year.
< br> Azenha, in the starting lineup for a second consecutive match due to the illness of reigning AVCA Player of the Week Tony Ching, recorded 15 kills for the second time in as many nights, attacking at an amazing .478 clip. The Brazilian Junior National Team member has recorded double digit kill totals in each of his five starts this season.

Sophomore middle Delano Thomas used a sizzling jump serve to tie his personal best with five service aces against the Tigers. Thomas also put-down 10 kills in 19 attempts to hit .368 on the evening.

Senior outside hitter Eyal Zimet had 10 kills and seven digs to help Hawaii?s cause.

Hawaii gained the one game lead by out- gunning the Tigers, as both squads posted attack percentages of over .400. Theocharidis slammed a team high six kills with just one error in nine attempts to hit .556 in the frame. Fellow senior Brian Nordberg was a perfect three-for-three in kill attempts, while middle mate Thomas recorded six points on two kills, two service aces and two blocks.

The Warriors jumped-out to an early advantage in the second game, taking advantage of two Pacific errors and a Theocharidis kill to take a 7-4 lead. Azenha sparked a four-point rally for Hawaii, finding the court on two service aces, as the "Men of War" stretched to a 15-6 lead.

Theocharidis again carried the brunt of the load of attacks and came through, ripping-off eight kills in 10 swings with no errors to lead all players in game two. With setter Kimo Tuyay driving the ship, Hawaii out hit Pacific, .375-to-.167 in the frame.
< br> The Tigers extended the match to a fourth game by holding-off a late Warrior rally to take game three, 30-27. Pacific took an early 8-7 lead and pulled-away to a 23-17 advantage late in the frame. Hawaii made its first charge at that point, running-off three points in a row to close the gap to 23-20, on an Azenha kill, a Theocharidis kill and an amazing double block of a Pacific attack. After denying two Tiger swings along with Zimet on the right sideline, Nordberg raced clear across the court to the other pole, where he and Theocharidis put the clamps on the Tiger attacker, pushing UOP head coach Joe Wortmann into a timeout.

After trading sideouts with Pacific, Hawaii mounted a second charge, posting another three-point run to pull within one, at 25-24. But the Tigers found a way to get it done, as they out hit the Warriors, .311-to-.265 in game three.

Hawaii quickly regained its momentum in game four, taking their attack back up to a .371 clip. The Warriors held a 15-11 advantage at the mid- point and never looked back, riding eight kills from Theocharidis and seven more from Azenha to close-out the match and the series sweep of the Tigers.

The Warriors will depart on their final regular season road trip next week, when they leave the 50th state to face UC San Diego.