USC
Hawaii
Warriors Down USC In MPSF Tourney First Round
April 22, 2001 | Men's Volleyball
April 21, 2001
HONOLULU -- - The Hawai'i men's volleyball team invited USC to its block party, Saturday night, but served as rude hosts as the Warriors recorded 27 team blocks in the 30-22, 30-18, 30-20 rout. A Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 5,948 (6,322 tickets issued), watched as the Warriors eliminated USC from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament and avenged last year's first round loss to the Trojans at North Gym.
All six Warrior starters posted five or more blocks, including a match-high 14 by junior middle blocker Dejan Miladinovic. Outside hitter Torry Tukuafu added eight blocks and setter Kimo Tuyay and outside hitters Eyal Zimet and Costas Theocharidis each chipped in with seven apiece. In the 96-minute match, Hawaii held the Trojans to -.035 hitting and 38 attack errors. Offensively, the Warriors hit for a .342 percentage. Theocharidis had a team-high 10 kills, followed by Brenton Davis' nine.
Hawai'i will next face Brigham Young, Thursday, April 26 in the semifinals of the MPSF Tournament. Last week, the Cougars dropped the Warriors from the top-ranking, sweeping the two-match series in Provo, Utah.
USC was led by junior Brook Billings, who notched a match-high 13 kills. But time and time again, the Warriors keyed on the outside hitter as they forced him to make 17 hitting errors in 42 swings. Hawai'i also limited five other Trojan hitters into .000 hitting or below.
In Game 1, Hawai'i surged out to 8-5 and 17-13 leads, but each time the Trojans rallied to tie the score. At 18 all, the Warriors scored four straight on a pair of Brenton Davis kills and two Trojan hitting errors. This time USC would not answer as Hawai'i closed out the victory on an 8-4 run. In the game, the Warriors had eight team blocks and limited the Trojans to .000 hitting.
UH went on a 15-2 run to close out the second game. Hawai'i showcased its blocking power as it accumulated eight team blocks, led by Miladinovic's six stuffs. With the Warriors holding a slim 16-15 lead, UH ran off a pair of four point runs and another three point run to secure the victory.
Hawai'i used five of its 11 Game 3 blocks to break open a 6-5 lead into a comfortable 15-10 advantage. USC would not get closer than two points the rest of the way.
Miladinovic tied a season-high with his 14 stuff blocks. The school's all-time leader in the category, now has 522 in three seasons at UH. Davis added to his total, as he climbed to third on the career list with 362.
