Box Score
HONOLULU- The third seeded University of Hawai`i men's volleyball team swept sixth seeded Pacific in the first round of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament at the Stan Sheriff Center, 37-35, 30-27, 30-27. 6,399 fans watched the Warriors play their final home game of the season and march into the semifinals of the MPSF tournament.
The Warrior seniors showed up to win Saturday night as UH swept the Tigers of the University of the Pacific. Tony Ching led all attackers with 19 kills and hit at a .385 clip. Eight of Ching's 19 kills were delivered in the third game. All-American Costas Theocharidis rocketed 18 kills while hitting .316 for the night. Delano Thomas pounded eight kills and added three crucial service aces to help the Warriors to victory.
The Warrior defense was like a brick wall, Thomas recored seven blocks while Brian Nordberg and Ching added four blocks each.
Despite recording a first round sweep, the night began with a nerve racking first game. The Tigers burst out of the gate to take a 6-1 lead before the first timeout was called. Timely kills by Theocharidis and Ching allowed the Warriors to pull even with Pacific 19-19. A huge block by Kimo Tuyay and Thomas gave UH their first lead of the night, 20-19. The Warriors looked to run away with a 26-23 lead, but the Tigers had other ideas. Pacific went on quick four point run and tied the match at 26 a piece. The combination of a net violation by the Warriors and a yellow card being drawen by Theocharidis gave the Tigers a two point play to eventually put them ahead 29-26. The Warriors weren't done yet. UH capped a three point run with a timely block from Ching to tie the game at 29. The Warriors found themselves trailing 34-35 late in overtime and took advantage of a Pacific net violation to bring the game to 36-35. Theocharidis ripped a kill set-up by Tuyay to take the first game 37-35.
Game two saw UH come out swinging first. They took an early 6-1 lead and never looked back. UH was able to maintain their lead at the midway point, 17-14. Thomas amassed four kills in the Warrior's final ten points to lead the UH to a game two win. Ching, Theocharidis, and Thomas ripped three straight kills respectively to give UH the 30-27 victory.
Game three once again saw the Warriors take an early lead, 4-1. Pacific was able to battle back and tie it up at 6, but that was as close as they would get for the rest of the night. Sparked by a kill from Tuyay the Warriors went on a four point run. Thomas pounded an ace to cap the run and give the Warriors a 14-8 lead. Ching came alive in the thrid game and crushed eight of his 19 kills in the final game. The Warriors could not be denied the sweep and won the final game 30-27 off a huge block from Thomas, Theocharidis, and senior Eyal Zimet.
Hawaii will face second seeded BYU in Malibu, Calif. on Thursday, April 24. at 7:30 p.m. (PST).
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