Posted on: Sunday, February 3, 2008

Warriors fall in four to Gauchos

Advertiser Staff

A revised script did not result in a happier ending for the Hawai'i men's volleyball team, which lost to host UC Santa Barbara, 32-30, 30-32, 36-34, 36-34, yesterday.

By sweeping the two-match series, the Gauchos improved to 4-6 overall and 3-4 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The Warriors fell to 3-6 and 2-4.

"It was like night and day compared to (Friday) night," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "We're getting a lot better."

Outside hitter Joshua Walker pounded a season-high 26 kills and hit .370, and for the first time this season, the Warriors had a consistent quick attack in the middle. But they squandered leads of 13-6 in Game 3 and 17-9 in Game 4.

"That was disappointing," Wilton said. "But give Santa Barbara credit. They played good, and we shut down a little bit."

After studying video of Friday's match, the UH coaches decided to shuffle the lineup. Sean Carney, who started at opposite attacker the last three matches, moved back to his natural position of setter.

Outside hitter Matias Brizuela started at libero, replacing Ric Cervantes. Brizuela had a team-high 17 digs.

"We had a very lengthy meeting," Wilton said. "We wanted to see if (Brizuela) would help us become a little more predictable with our passing. You could argue that Ric has passed well, and he has, but we wanted to see a different look."

Wilton said the competition will open at setter (Carney or Nejc Zemljak) and libero (Brizuela or Cervantes).

One thing is certain: Walker, a second-year freshman from Virginia Beach, Va., has emerged as the go-to attacker. Wilton will stick with an offensive scheme that allows Walker to take the most swings.

"The featured hitter on our volleyball team is a guy from Virginia," Wilton said. "You're talking about a freshman. It'll be a wild ride. But the system we're trying to play is worth doing."

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