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Date Posted: 10:32:13 02/03/02 Sun
Author: Jon Ralston
Subject: Tiger Volleybal gets spanked

Originally Published Sunday, February 3, 2002
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Warriors roll past Pacific

By Bob Highfill

Record Staff Writer

University of the Pacific men's volleyball team ran into two significant problems on Saturday.

First, University of Hawaii's strong serves kept the Tigers from establishing their offense, and junior Costas Theocharidis was almost unstoppable in the Warriors' 28-30, 30-27, 30-22, 30-19 victory in front of 552 at Spanos Center.

"They set (Theocharidis) 60 balls and he made only two errors," Pacific coach Joe Wortmann said. "That's why he's the player of the year. He said, 'Put the match on my shoulders. I want to go home.' "

Theocharidis, a 6-foot-3 native of Greece and the reigning AVCA national player of the year, put on a scintillating performance. He hit .450 with 29 kills with only two errors in 60 total attacks. He also contributed defensively with three block assists and six digs. On Friday, in the Warriors' four-game win over the Tigers, he hit .167 and recorded 17 kills. Hawaii coach Mike Wilton said his star player looked more like himself on Saturday.

"(Theocharidis) can do that," said Wilton, whose fourth-ranked team improved to 7-2 overall and 4-0 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. "He's just phenomenal."

Pacific's big bomber outside, Aaron Wachtfogel, credited his counterpart.

"He's really impressive," said Wachtfogel, who had a team-high 27 kills on Saturday and 49 in the series. "He didn't do much (Friday), but he had a very good match."

Both coaches agreed Saturday's match was better-played. Both teams hit a higher percentage, and there were fewer mistakes. The Tigers started well, but after losing a hard-fought third game, their passing broke down, as a result of Hawaii's hard serves. Wachtfogel said the trickle-down effect was costly.

"It's kind of a chain reaction," Wachtfogel said. "The passing broke down a little bit and the middle was taken away, so they gang up on the outside, which makes it tougher to get a kill."

Pacific (2-7, 1-6) was without starting middle Sean Rodgers, who missed both matches with a strained abdominal muscle. That forced Tim Gerlach and Tim Jenson to play out of position in the middle. Gerlach had eight kills and one block assist, while Jenson had one kill.

In the early going, the Tigers were poised to make the Warriors' trans-Pacific flight much more subdued. Pacific trailed 13-10 in the first game, then went on an 11-3 run to take a 21-16 lead. Hawaii showed its resilience by chipping away at the deficit. The Warriors eventually tied the game at 26 after a 3-0 run. The teams traded two more points, then the Tigers closed it out on kills by Wachtfogel and freshman Brian Zodrow.

The second game went back and forth before Wachtfogel recorded a kill off Hawaii's block to pull the Tigers within 28-27. But Theocharidis displayed his versatility with a laser-beam kill and an off-speed shot over the block. Hawaii took control of the third game with a 5-1 run that made it 26-18. The Tigers couldn't catch up, and Brian Nordberg's solo block put the Warriors up 2-1 in games.

Pacific was soundly beaten in Game 4, as Dejan Miladinovich earned five of his match-high eight block assists, including one with Theocharidis by his side to end the match.

"I think we played really well," said Wortmann, whose team will play at Cal State Northridge on Wednesday. "We're throwing a patchwork team out there, and we just ran out of juice."

* To reach reporter Bob Highfill, phone 546-8299 or e-mail bhighfil@recordnet.com

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