Here’s a match with massive playoff implications. Between tonight and tomorrow, with these two teams going head-to-head, you can pretty well project one of the lower spots in the MPSF tournament based on this weekend’s results. If either side win both, they’ll have a big leg up on the other. A split somewhat favors the Gauchos, as while it would not seal anything, it would make it so Hawaii would need help in the final weeks of the season to end up in the playoffs themselves.
I must again make mention of the performances of the Star-Spangled Banner and the Hawaiian state song. They had a guitar player/singer sing kind of a strange arrangement of the Banner (and in a key I’d never heard). UH senior libero Matthew Cheape accompanied them with hand-drums, which was….yeah, sorta cool. The crowd seemed to dig it. But it was very much a ‘pop-rock’ arrangement of the American anthem. Kind of surreal, actually. Cheape went back to the team lineup during the playing of the state song, and the guitarist was joined by a backup singer for that one, which….again, seemed to be in a different key than usual (though I’m not as familiar with that song). The crowd seemed to like it, and that’s all that really matters, but it was decidedly unusual.
The rally on 3-2 UCSB was one of those classic rallies where a team scrambles to keep the ball alive but can’t quite put it away, leading to a point for the other side. What made it noteworthy for me was JP Marks doing a full-0n extension roll after his diving save. I think that’s the very first time I’ve ever seen that in a men’s volleyball match. UCSB extended to 5-2 behind 6’9″ blockmonster Dylan Davis. The Warriors initially came back within a point at 5-4, but Brook Sedore‘s hitting error and back-to-back service aces for Austin Kingi put the Gauchos up five at 10-5. That prompted Hawaii’s first timeout of the night.
After the two sides traded service errors, UCSB extended their advantage on a kill for Miles Evans, his third of the set. Once trailing six, Hawaii closed back to 12-10 behind some nifty rallies, with Cheape coming up with the ‘waffle’ dig (a pancake with your foot) and Siki Zarkovic finding some ‘phantom’ hands for a touch. On 12-9, Gauchos setter Jonah Seif found Davis for the middle attack, but his hit flew rather inexplicably long. At 12-10, UCSB coach Rick McLaughlin, brother of University of Washington women’s volleyball head coach Jim McLaughlin (and not to be conflated with commentator and former coach Chris McLachlin), expended their first timeout.
Marks came up with a very nice serve coming out of the timeout, taking some off of it and forcing UCSB libero, Austin’s brother Chad Kingi, to dive for the ball. It put the Gauchos pretty badly out of system, leading to a solo block on the right side for Zarkovic. On the next ball, Hawaii knotted it again at 12-all. The quick set to Davis Holt flew wide to at last end Marks’ run on serve. The Gauchos reached 15 first when a ball from the Hawaii side hit the scoreboard and fell in on the UCSB side. Game on if it falls back on your side, but it’s a dead ball if it falls on the other side. They took the automatic timeout on the floor, but since two charged timeouts occurred prior, the broadcast stayed put.
The Gauchos next took a point to go on serve to go up 17-15, after they were able to dig what looked like a pretty well-executed middle attack to Taylor Averill. Hawaii continually killed themselves with service errors as the set wore on, as Sedore, Zarkovic, and Max Wechsung all buried serves straight into the net at one point. It had to be deflating to them, to play great points and get the sideout only to basically roll over on the next ball. Wechsung’s service error was the fifth of the set, putting UCSB up 20-17 and prompting Hawaii’s final timeout. Hawaii nearly closed to a point on the 21-19 rally, as the ball rode the net for a moment and Davis scoring an easy spike to get UCSB the sideout. Timmer came back in for Holt for the back-end re-sub, and did his job forcing a bad pass, but Evan Licht (pronounced “Light”) capitalized on an awkward look from the right side to keep the sideout train rolling. Kanoa Leahey completely called it when Sedore rotated to the service line with Hawaii trailing 23-21, presaging Sedore’s ace by calling him “who you want back there.” UCSB burned the final timeout of the set there, probably for nothing else than to ice Sedore.
It didn’t really work, as Sedore’s serve coming out of the timeout was awfully good, but UCSB fielded it cleanly to set Licht on the right side to bring the Gauchos to set point. Their serve on 24-22 was a let and nearly an ace, but the diving pancake from Averill kept the ball alive. The Gauchos were called for a net fault to bring it back within one, but they converted their last attempt at set point before extra points with a Miles Evans kill from the pipe.
UCSB changed setters in set 2, changing from Jonah Seif to Andrew Kocur. A fascinating move, as UCSB’s setters have almost as much a Mutt-and-Jeff thing going on as do Hawaii’s, and Kocur’s only appeared in 6 previous matches this season. It was later revealed that Seif was feeling under the weather. He wasn’t on UCSB’s bench to start the set, and when he did show up, all he really did was sit quietly with a towel draped over his head and drink fluids. Kind of a wonder he even started.
UCSB took an early advantage and stretched in to three at 7-4 when Evans beat the triple block by swooping over it with a roll shot to an open area of the court. Zarkovic was able to contort his way out of a clear long-flying serve at one point early in the set, and Leahey called it a ‘Matrix move.’ Made me feel old, because these kids were, what, 5, when The Matrix came out?
After trading some sideouts with the Gauchos up a point, Hawaii knotted the set at 12 with a point on Sedore’s serve. The Canadian got the kill himself on a very fundamentally sound back-set from Joby Ramos from front-left to right-back (way harder than it looks — and it doesn’t exactly look easy). Sedore rattled off another couple of nice serves, forcing tough passes from each of the respective Kingi brothers, leading to Gaucho hitting errors. Even with a media timeout looming when one side hit 15, UCSB expended a charged timeout at 14-12. You have to somewhat wonder if the media timeout didn’t slip the coach’s mind. My connection blinked out at that point, but suffice it to say Hawaii got the point out of the UCSB timeout to force the media timeout at 15-12. It ended out of the media timeout with a Sedore service error that, on replay, appeared to be in.
Miles Evans showed some hops on the rally ending 16-15, getting rejected on a block and popping right back up for a second attempt, beating the double block that time. The Gauchos drew it even again at 17 with a triple block rejecting Zarkovic from the back-row attack. Marks’ subsequent hitting error put UCSB back on top 18-17. Marks got the kill off the block and out on the next ball, with Cheape standing by to play it should it be in. Got to credit his eye, because it didn’t land out by very much. With the double-block for Davis and Kocur, UCSB went ahead 20-18. Finally, Hawaii coach Charlie Wade expended his first timeout of the set. After a couple of traded service errors, the Gauchos took a nice point with Kocur reacting instinctively for a one-handed jab at the ball into an unguarded area of the court. That put the Gauchos up three at 22-19, and brought about Hawaii’s last timeout.
Hawaii played a grotesque point on 22-20. As Austin Kingi tried simply to send over a free ball to keep the rally alive, he found an empty backcourt waiting for him. Marks was the only man even back there, and his dive couldn’t keep the ball alive. Out of timeouts, Hawaii tried subbing in Timmer for Holt to slow the momentum, but Kingi followed with another kill to bring UCSB to set point. UCSB converted their second set point, 25-21, but very nearly didn’t, as Marks kept a ball alive by leaping over a table on the side line in stride. He couldn’t aim his pass — it’s a freaking miracle he even got to the ball, so no shame in that — and it went well long, over a table deep beyond the end line. Zarkovic nearly cleared that table in stride, but didn’t quite make it.
Hawaii edged ahead early in set 3 on a Gaucho hitting error to make it 4-2. At that point, Kolby Kanetake made his first appearance of the night for the Warriors, and he and Cheape proceeded to get their wind sprints in as they swapped out who was on the court with who was serving (Kanetake for defense, Cheape for passing). On the 5-3 rally, the up referee blew an early whistle expecting the ball to hit the floor when Averill came up with a kick-dig. The ruling was replay the point, and Zarkovic’s serve flew straight into the net. The Gauchos drew even at 5, but the Warriors re-established the 2-point advantage at 7-5 on just a picture-perfect connection from Ramos to Sedore in the back row. A back-bump set (easy for me to say) from Zarkovic to Sedore again led to another kill for the Canadian, and an early timeout for UCSB trailing 8-5.
The Warriors’ run extended coming out of the timeout, with an emphatic kill from Marks. The Gauchos finally sided out at 9-6, and Sedore nearly kept that ball alive, too, by running straight at the OC Sports broadcast position (the ball landed just behind them). Their lead extended to five at 12-7 with a kill from the middle attack from Nick West. A second in a row made it 13-7, and UCSB expended their second timeout. The media timeout came at 15-8 Hawaii, and West came up aces — literally — at the service line coming out of the timeout, with his nifty little hybrid serve. Evans didn’t get his first kill of the set until 20-14, drawing the Gauchos to within six. Davis finished off a very long rally to make it 20-15, one that featured a bit of a miscommunication on the Hawaii side. But the Gauchos got no closer. Sedore brought it to set point at 24-16 with a right-side kill off the block and out. Evans staved off the first set point with a kill, and then Davis staved off the second with his own kill on Evans’ serve. A very long rally on 24-18 ended with Evans trying a roll shot that landed wide, to send us to the 4th.
Hawaii took the first two points of the 4th, and at 4-2 Sedore rotated to the service line and elicited a Gaucho overpass. It wound up being a long rally, but UCSB never really got in system, leading to an eventual solo block for Averill. At 5-3, Hawaii wasted a sterling service reception from Marks when Ramos somehow managed to set Averill in the middle too high. You wouldn’t figure that’d even be possible. Sedore got the sideout on the next ball to keep the set from coming even. After some sideouts, a dandy kill from Marks on a difficult angle among them, Austin Kingi’s service ace tied the set at 8. At 8-all, Sedore’s hit was called out with no touch, when replays suggested both of those determinations were probably wrong. Hawaii called time trailing 10-8.
The first rally back from the timeout was an awkward one, with Hawaii claiming a point when UCSB tried to send over a free ball, and it hit the antenna. The Warriors tied the set again at 11. Zarkovic got the Warriors back ahead at 14-12 with a left-side kill through the double block. UCSB’s coach flinched a little, perhaps thinking about calling timeout, but he didn’t. Hawaii didn’t make them wait long for it, as Averill’s kill from the middle made it 15-12. At 16-14, Ramos tried a dink on 2, but UCSB kept it alive. No matter — the Warriors scored the kill on their next attack, on a ball that very much looked diggable. The Gauchos made it back within a point at 17-16 with a very deceptive shot from Ryan Thompson, a sub late in set 3 who stayed on in set 4, as he sent it over on 2. Ramos came up with a huge service ace to negate that kill, with the ball all but literally crawling over the net at 19-16. Marks followed with a left-side kill to get Hawaii to 20 first, prompting UCSB’s first charged timeout of the set.
UCSB took the first two points back from the timeout to close back to within 20-18, prompting Coach Wade’s timeout. My connection again blinked out (maddening how this happens), and it came back in time to see Austin Kingi come up with an ace up the middle against West. After a long rally on 20-all, Sedore had to field a difficult set from Zarkovic (of all people) to put UCSB up a point at 21-20. The Warriors finally got the sideout with a service error from Kingi, but it was a pretty dramatic turn. At 22-21, UCSB turned to a serving sub Grant Gosswiller, and UCSB came up with the huge double-roof on the right side with Davis and Evans. Sedore made it through the block to bring Hawaii back within a point, but still facing an uphill climb. Hawaii turned to Timmer at 23-22, but he couldn’t disrupt the UCSB offense, leading to match point. UCSB finished a rather stunning turnaround in the 4th to seal the match on their first attempt.
#8 UC Santa Barbara d. #12 Hawaii (25-23, 25-21, 18-25, 25-22)
Man. That was deflating. It looked for all the world like we were heading to a full 5, but no such luck. A look at the team stat lines reveals really no category that swung decisively in favor of one side or the other. The Gauchos just came up with the big points at the especially opportune times, not least the 9-2 run that closed out the match.
Sedore led all scorers with 15 kills, but had just a .211 efficiency for the night. Zarkovic had 13 kills, but the man I was most impressed with on Hawaii’s side tonight was Marks, becoming a good terminating hitter at 12/4/22 (so only 6 times did he touch the ball and the rally not end right then and there) for a .364 efficiency, much better than his season average. He had just a single block tonight, but I think that’s okay, because he’s found something of a niche as a back-row defender. He had no digs in the 4th set, which is kind of an anomaly, but had 7 through 3 sets, which is an acceptable total in men’s volleyball. Ramos led all defenders with 12 digs.
Evans led the Gauchos with 14 kills, but only 2 of them came after the 2nd set. Licht had 12 kills, but hit just .128 for the night. The big star for the Gauchos tonight, as most nights, was Davis, hitting 9/1/15 with 6 blocks to nearly usurp Evans’ point total. Easy to call him the difference in the match.
Same two teams tomorrow. Whatever significance tonight’s match had, double it for tomorrow, because a UCSB win and they all but guarantee themselves a playoff spot. A Hawaii loss would eliminate them from contention. It’s basically a playoff situation already.
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