Box Score

LA JOLLA, Calif. - The "Men of War" went to their bench to push their season-best win streak to nine matches, defeating Mountain Pacific Sports Federation member UC San Diego, thanks to late contributions from "reserves" Costas Theocharidis, Delano Thomas and Kimo Tuyay.

Playing for their 29th straight win in as many matches against UC San Diego, the Warriors started just two of their regular starters-Tony Ching and Brian Nordberg. But after watching UC San Diego walk away with the second game to move into game three tied at a game apiece, head coach Mike Wilton went to his bench, throwing his entire starting rotation onto the court for the start of the third game.

Theocharidis, who was the only Warrior not to see action in Wednesday night's sweep of the Tritons, came-off the bench to quickly put-down 12 kills on a .450 attack percentage to lift Hawaii to victory.

Thomas hit .714, with five kills and five blocks in his two games of action, while setter Tuyay quarterbacked Hawaii to a team attack percentage of well over .400 while also leading the team with seven total blocks.

Ching led Hawaii in kills (15) and digs (13) to post the double-double. Nordberg had seven kills, adding three service aces and three blocks.

The Warriors pushed ahead of the Tritons early on in game one, and then withstood a late charge from the hosts to take the first frame, 30-26. Hawaii jumped out of the gates, leading 10-7 after Stanhiser's kill off an assist from Rasay, prompting UCSD to call for a timeout. Stanhiser kept the Warriors rolling out of the break, as he teamed with Azenha for back-to-back blocks to put Hawaii up by seven.

After seeing their deficit extend to eight, at 20-12, UC San Diego subbed-in sophomore Dickens Tai, who held his serve as his squad ran-off three consecutive points, two coming on service aces. The Tritons closed to within three at 26-19, before Warrior outside hitters Bender and Ching got hot to help close out the first game.

Bender led Hawaii with five kills, while Ching added four of his own. Ching, who missed last week's entire Pacific series due to illness, hit .800, with no errors in five attempts.

Rasay was extremely effective with his serve in the first game, recording three service aces while committing no errors.

The Tritons battled tough again in game two, catching Hawaii from behind to even the set at 16-16. The Warriors maintained the lead up till the mid-point of the second game, but saw UCSD sprint past them to lead 20-17, thanks largely to five kills by Tritons' leading kill producer Jim Waller.

Ching led a late charge by the Warriors, recording four of Hawaii's five points as they closed to within two, at 28-26, forcing the Tritons into a timeout. But UCSD held-on to even the match at a game apiece, with Waller leading the way with eight kills in the frame.

Ching was the hottest hitter on the court in game two as well, with his seven kills coming with no errors in eight attempts.

Hawaii went back to their usual starters in game three, as Theocharidis, Tuyay, Thomas, Eyal Zimet, and libero Jake Muise rejoined Ching and Nordberg on the floor.

With their starters back on the court, the Warriors turned game three into a rout, defeating the Tritons, 30-20. After watching their back-ups hit .254 through two games, the starters hit .462 in game three, with Theocharidis leading the way with five kills in nine attempts.

The "Men of War" used a huge mid-game rally to take the game and the match going away. After playing to a 10-10 deadlock, Hawaii engineered a run that saw them outscore the Tritons, 10-to-1. Theocharidis made his presence known again in game four, as he put-down seven more kills to finish with 12 kills in two games.

The Warriors will return to Hawaii tomorrow afternoon to begin preparation for a four match homestand that will close-out their regular season schedule. They will host UC Santa Barbara on Apr. 4th and 5th, followed by USC on Apr. 11th and 12th. Hawaii also learned today that they have earned one of the eight spots in the MPSF Tournament.