UCLA
Hawaii
Bruins Avenge Warriors in Men's Volleyball
March 30, 2001 | Men's Volleyball
March 30, 2001
On a night when former All-American Steve Salmons had his jersey retired, UCLA avenged Thursday's five-game loss to Hawaii with a four-game payback victory at Pauley Pavilion.
The Bruins (18-6, 10-4) clinched a berth in the MPSF playoffs by winning, 30-25, 30-25, 20-30, 30-27 before 1,411 fans in two hours and five minutes.
Thursday's nemesis, Costas Theocharidis, was held in check by the Bruins, who limited the Hawaii All-American to 21 kills (.235) and forced him into six hitting errors in Game 4. Thursday night, Theocharidis burned the Bruins for 31 kills (.404).
Junior Matt Komer led UCLA for the second straight night, hammering 15 kills (.273) with a pair of aces and four block assists. All-American Adam Naeve added 14 kills (.500) and senior Mark Williams and sophomore Scott Morrow added 13 kills apiece. Morrow served a key ace in Game 4 to aid the Bruins' victory.
The Bruins held off the Warriors (16-4, 11-3) in the first two games by limiting their opponent's attack to a percentage of .188 and out-blocking, UH 10.5-6.0. UCLA also served five aces to Hawaii's two and held a 35-29 edge in total kills.
In Game 3, the Warriors broke a 17-17 tie on two UCLA hitting errors and a kill by Theocharidis before the Bruins called timeout at 17-20. Another Hawaii kill made it 21-17. An overpass by UCLA out of bounds on the Hawaii side of the court caused an argument among the teams. Originally, the call went to Hawaii, but it was reversed when the official ruled a touch against the Warriors. Theocharidis' kill gave UH a 22-18 lead and then he served four straight points to put the game out of reach.
In Game 4, Williams recorded three block assists and Naeve and Komer added four kills apiece to keep Hawaii at arm's length. Still, the Warriors rallied from a four-point deficit to close to 26-25 after a hitting error by Komer, a UH kill and an ace. Morrow's ace gave the Bruins a three-point cushion before Komer scored on match point.
The victory was doubly important for the Bruins, who have won two of three matches this season against the Warriors. UCLA remains in contention for the important No.2 seed for the MPSF Tournament.
UCLA's next match will be on Fri., Apr. 6 at UC San Diego.
