By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Aaron Wilton put down 13 kills for the Rainbows
in their win over Laval.

The Nittany Lions took all the fun out of beating UCLA - well, some of it - by getting to the Bruins first in last night's opening match of the Outrigger Hotels Invitational men's volleyball tournament at the Special Events Arena.

While 7,301 saw fifth-ranked Penn State catch No. 2 UCLA napping, 15-11, 15-11, 14-16, 15-5, it may have been host Hawaii that got the wake-up call. The Rainbows will need to be sharper than they were in last night's 15-4, 15-7, 15-11 sweep of Laval if they want to challenge the Nittany Lions for the tournament title.

"I thought Penn State looked real good, almost like midseason form," said Hawaii coach Mike Wilton, whose team takes on the Nittany Lions in tonight's second match. "It's real early in the season, but this tournament is a great test for all of us."

Penn State (6-0) passed with flying colors against the two-time defending NCAA champs. A balanced attack, led by Ivan Contreras (26 kills) and Jason Kepner (24), kept the somnambulant Bruins off-balance throughout most of the 2 hours and 17 minutes.

In UCLA's defense, the team did not arrive until 2 a.m. yesterday after a six-hour flight delay from Los Angeles.

"But we can't use excuses like those," said Bruin sophomore hitter Fred Robins, a Kamehameha Schools product. "We should have been fired up to play this match. It was our fault. We didn't play well and Penn State played really well, dug us all night. Paul (Nihipali) kept us in the game."

If it hadn't been for Nihipali and his 36 kills, the Bruins wouldn't have lasted as long as they did. Searching for the leadership that All-American setter Stein Metzger took with him upon graduation, UCLA alternated setters freshman Brandon Taliaferro and sophomore Eric Vallely with some - but not enough - success.

"We were real slow and lethargic," said UCLA coach Al Scates. "Paul was the only one hitting with authority out there. Our hitters didn't seem to have any snap or velocity on the ball.

"This was not a good performance and we know it. We've got a long ways to go. I expect they'll do better with a little rest. By Saturday, we expect to be playing better. At least, I hope we are. Saturday, there will be no excuses."

Hawaii has been looking forward to tomorrow's match with UCLA ever since Tom Stillwell's dink sneaked over the Rainbows' block in last May's NCAA final. Penn State has a little motivation on its side tonight as well; Hawaii ousted the Nittany Lions in the NCAA semifinals eight months ago.

"I think a win like tonight gives our new players a sense of what's needed to accomplish our goals this season," said Contreras. "This felt really good. The key was there was no one playing doing it all, the whole Penn State team played well out there.

"The other key was the digs (60-41 PSU advantage). We stopped Nihipali in the last game. Our game plan didn't change. Hopefully, this win changed the way of thinking for our new players, showed them what we can do together."

Penn State had five players in double-kill figures. Tony Mazzullo had 15 kills to go with 12 digs with Brad Miller and Sergio Pamena each putting down 11.

Through Game 3, Nihipali was the lone Bruin with more than nine kills. Robins and Adam Naeve finished with 12 each, Andor Gyulai with 10.

Hawaii showed good balance against Laval, a match that is counted as an exhibition. Jason Ring put down 16 kills and Aaron Wilton added 13 as the Rainbows also experimented with a couple of lineups.

Junior Sivan Leoni was impressive on the quick sets, hitting .909 with 10 kills in 11 swings and no errors. Hawaii set the tone of the match in Game 1, hitting .600 against the overwhelmed Le Rouge et Or (The Red and Gold).

"It is the first time the team has played in front of 8,000," said Laval coach Pascal Clement. "The only people in our whole country to play in conditions like this is pro hockey, the Habs, the Nordiques. It's a great honor to have a chance for us to play under these conditions. Playing a team like Hawaii gives our young team a chance to grow up.

"We had a great afternoon practice but mentally was different when it's the real game. At 6 o'clock, for the UCLA game, there weren't too may people. And we said it's not that bad. Then we came out and it's, wow, where did they call come from?"

Hawaii took advantage of Laval's nervousness, needing just 18 minutes to turn a 7-0 lead into a 15-4 rout. Le Rouge et Or settled down, closing to 9-7 in Game 2, before Hawaii pulled away, helped by two of the team's eight aces.

Laval again hung around in Game 3, using a block and a Rainbow error to close to 11-10. Le Rouge appeared to have tied it when Naveh Milo hit long; a linesman called a touch on the hit, giving the serve back to Hawaii.

It took an ace by Milo and a Laval hitting error to set up match point. Milo said au revoir with his seventh kill of the match.

NOTES: Tomorrow's matches are sold out. The match between Laval and Penn State will be a best 2-out-of-3 to allow the teams to catch late-night flights back to the mainland ... Backup senior setter Kahinu Lee returned to the lineup last night. He initially had been declared academically ineligible but completed some paperwork to restore his final season ... Sophomore blocker David Tang has left the team to concentrate on academics.

Hawaii def. Laval (Canada), 15-4, 15-7, 15-11

Le Rouge et Or (0-1 OHVI)

	 	g	k	e	at	pct.	bs	ba	d
Larivee  	3	3	7	14	-.286	0	3	0
D.Lavoie 	3	11	6	21	.238	0	1	3
Marcotte 	3	0	2	5	-.400	0	5	3
Morin	 	3	1	0	3	.333	0	3	7
Lagace  	3	12	7	36	.139	0	2	4
Daoud	 	3	7	1	16	.375	0	3	1
F.Lavoie 	2	1	1	2	.000	0	1	0
M.Lantagne  	2	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0
Beaulac  	1	1	1	2	.000	0	1	2
D.Lantagne  	1	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0
Pilote  	1	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0
Totals  	3	36	25	99	.111	0	19	20	

	 	g	k	e	at	pct.	bs	ba	d
Lee	 	1	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0
Escobar  	1	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0
Wilton  	3	13	5	23	.348	1	1	10
Milo	 	3	7	3	14	.286	0	2	60
Vaughan  	3	4	0	5	.800	0	0	20
Kuo	 	1	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0
Leoni	 	3	10	0	11	.909	1	3	7
Ring	 	3	16	5	31	.355	0	6	5
Tune	 	2	6	2	8	.500	1	0	2
Stanley  	2	5	2	9	.333	0	2	1
Totals  	3	61	17	101	.436	3	14	33	

Aces-UH (8): Milo 3, Lee 1, Vaughan 1, Leoni 1, Ring 1, Stanley 1. LU (2) Morin 1, Lagace 1. Assists-UH (59): Vaughan 49, Kuo 6, Milo 3, Wilton 1. LU (33): Morin 30, Larivee 1, Beaulac 1, D. Lantagne 1. A-7,301. T-1:30. Officials: Wayne Lee, Ernest Ho.