The top-ranked University of Hawaii men's volleyball team swept an opponent for the 15th time this season, defeating San Diego State last night, 15-5, 16-14, 15-6. The 91-minute victory was the second in straight sets in as many nights over the Aztecs for the Rainbows... but it wasn't as easy as it was Tuesday at Peterson Gym.
"You have to give San Diego State credit for they way they took it to us in Game 2," said Hawaii coach Mike Wilton, whose team improved to 21-1 overall, 15-0 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play. "They served some real bullets. (Brian) Corso's four aces shocked me, so I know it shocked our team. We just weren't communicating during that rotation.
"But I'm fairly happy with the guys overall and thought we blocked a little better. We're looking forward to having a day off. We're halfway through our mission (of winning four league road games."
Hawaii's perfect record in MPSF play was never in serious trouble, but in Game 2 San Diego State threatened to take a game from the Rainbows for only the seventh time this season. Helped by Corso's four consecutive aces, the Aztecs jumped out to an 8-5 lead.
The game was tied seven times, the last at 14, when Hawaii All-American Yuval Katz was blocked. Katz put down one of his match-high 21 kills to give the Rainbows the sideout, then hammered down two quick points for the win.
The Aztecs had little left for the rest of the match. Hawaii led 12-2 in Game 3 after using just four servers. Katz had two of his four aces during the run.
The Rainbows hit a phenomenal .485 as a team, with Sivan Leoni hitting .800 (8 kills in 10 attempts and no errors) and Rick Tune hitting .727 (8 kills, 11 attempts, no errors). Aaron Wilton added 11 kills, hitting .412, as Hawaii improved to 21-1 overall, 15-0 in MPSF.
The Aztecs fell to 7-15 and 2-12.
Lars Winter led San Diego State with 15 kills.
The Rainbows finish out the road trip with matches at UC San Diego tomorrow and Saturday. The Tritons are 4-15 and 0-13 after losing to UC Santa Barbara Tuesday, 15-2, 15-3, 15-8.
Wilton hopes to rest his starters against UC San Diego tomorrow and Saturday in preparation for a pair of important matches at home next week against fifth-ranked Stanford.
vcaps Notes Tickets for the Final Four, hosted by UCLA, are on sale. Play is on May 2 and 4, the first time the championship tournament will have a day of rest between the semifinals and final.
For ticket information, call Gina Garrett at UCLA: 310-206-6161.