And now for an island nightcap, as we have so many nights. This might be the first time all season the Warriors enter a match as the prohibitive favorites for victory. It’s certainly the first time they’ve had a number next to their name and their opponents not. Trailing UCSB by 2 in the loss column with the big double shot between the two schools coming next week, this weekend’s double shot with the Tigers really are two must-win matches for Hawaii if they mean to have any real playoff aspirations. Hawaii have numerous statistical advantages over Pacific on the season, but perhaps the most stark is service aces, out-acing the Tigers on the season 118-37. Hawaii enter tonight remarkably having won 40 of 41 all-time matches with Pacific.
The teams split the first 10 points, before Pacific took the first two-point lead of the night at 7-5 on a wide hit from Davis Holt that looked like a pretty good play until the last moment. On the next rally, a long one, Pacific’s Taylor Hughes seemed to lose the ball in the arena lights, or something. After a block touch sent the ball way into the air, Hughes camped under int beyond the back line, prepping for a bump set, and the ball just fell in. It looked very strange. Pacific kept the gas on, going up three at 9-6 on a solo block by Matthew Houlihan. Hawaii closed back to 9-8 on an extremely unusual play, with the diminutive setter Joby Ramos scoring on a back-row swing. Probably one of the only times that’s happened this season, and maybe the only. JP Marks drew it even with an ace on the next ball, but then gave it back with an error into the net. A big kill from the middle for Holt, who did not start, in favor of Johann Timmer, later put the Warriors up two at 12-10. Pacific had the answer to tie the set again at 13.
Chris McLachlin (glad to have him back) noted that the Warrior back row seemed to be playing serves that were bound to land out if they left them alone. Pacific reached 15 first, at 15-14 and the automatic timeout, with a kill off Taylor Averill‘s block touch and out. Averill got his fourth kill of the set, on four swings, coming back from the timeout to tie it for the 11th time. He then rotated to the service line, eliciting a rare poor reception from Pacific libero Javier Caceres for an ace. At 16’s, Pacific turned to serving sub Peter Edwards, and he appeared to come up with a nice serve, eliciting an overpass from Marks, but some campfire defense from the Tigers meant it was, improbably, a point for the Warriors. The set was tied again at 17, the 13th tie of the set, and Hughes’ hitting error on 18-17 gave Hawaii the 2-point lead at 19-17. After Marks, who had a remarkable 7 digs in the set, came up with an ace to get the Warriors first to 20, and their three-point lead got Pacific coach Joe Wortmann to burn the first charged timeout of the night.
Out of the timeout, Pacific drew closer, with Hughes getting the kill off a block touch (slight touch, but still), and Brook Sedore‘s attempt on 20-18 hitting the antenna. That prompted Charlie Wade‘s first timeout of the set and night. Tommy Carmody, sporting a face mask after breaking his nose 5 weeks ago, led a double block against Siki Zarkovic to draw it even again at 20. Zarkovic’s next swing ensured that Pacific would not take the lead, with his emphatic hit making it to the floor. At 21-20, Timmer rotated back in for Holt to serve. Pacific’s attack flew long to make it 22-20, and that elicited Pacific’s last timeout. Pacific came up with a good pass on service reception to get the kill, but it proceeded sideout after sideout to Hawaii’s set point at 24-22. Averill and Jace Olsen (when did he sub in?) came up with the double block to put Hawaii up one set.
Hawaii took early control in set 2, taking the first 3 points and 5 of the first 6. Ramos consistently fed the middle in set 1, with Averill racking up 4 kills and Holt taking a number of swings as well. He favored the pin hitters more at the beginning of set 2, but went back to the middle with Averill on the rally ending 7-2, completely befuddling the Pacific block. Wortmann called his first timeout of set 2 with his team trailing five. It went on mostly sideout after sideout until Pacific came up with a dig on a quick-set play from the Hawaii side, leading to a kill for Carmody to draw back within 3 at 12-9. They drew even closer, at 13-11, on a Davis Holt hitting error. Hawaii reached 15 first with Averill’s 7th kill on 7 swings, and the TV timeout at 15-11.
JP Marks came up with a nice out-of-system set, feeding Sedore on the right side for a kill off the triple block and out to put the Warriors up five. Despite the fact that the Warriors were succeeding at not serving Pacific’s standout libero Caceres, they ran a couple of great set plays to come back within three at 16-13. A very nice serve got a Hawaii overpass that the Pacific front row didn’t miss, making it a 2-point set again. After the subsequent timeout, Averill continued his perfect night with kill number eight to put Hawaii back up 3. Adam Troy played a great point on 17-14, fielding the serve and putting the kill away himself. He came up with a relatively rare great serve for the Tigers on the next point, drawing them within a point as Hawaii’s reception and offense had no answer. At 18-17, Hawaii turned the rare trick of playing scrambling defense to keep a ball alive and still winning the point. Numerous bodies hit the floor (so you can bet the deck had to be swabbed afterward), and Holt was able to send it over and keep it alive. Pacific couldn’t legally return it. That rotated Max Wechsung in as a serving in place of jump-floater Averill, and he came up with back-to-back aces to force Pacific’s last timeout. The second ace in particular was kind of gruesome reception and offense on the part of the Tigers.
Wechsung’s roll continued coming out of the timeout with yet a third ace. At 22-17, he served the ball into the net, but he still had a big smile on his face coming back out in favor of Averill. Pacific setter Patrick Tunnell responded to Wechsung’s service error with one his own to make it 23-18. The Warriors reached set point at 24-20 with a left-side Brook Sedore kill off the block and in. Nick West, formerly a starter, rotated in for Zarkovic, but all he did was watch a JP Marks service error. Pacific went to their serving specilist Edwards, who went for it and had his ball fly long, giving Hawaii the second set 25-21.
Timmer started set 3 in the front row again for Hawaii. With the Warriors on service reception to begin the set, Timmer happened to get the first swing and came up with the rare kill (just his 8th of the season). The teams traded the first 8 points, including one where the ground rules of the Stan Sheriff Center had to come into play, as a Pacific pass touched the bottom of the scoreboard and landed on the Hawaii side. If it hits the scoreboard and lands on your own side, play on, but landing on the other side constitutes a hitting error. A run on Sedore’s serve broke open the stalemate, with Pacific calling time trailing 7-4 after a kill from Sedore himself. The run continued coming out of the timeout, with Sedore coming up with another kill on his own serve (how often do you see a kill from right-back?) to make it 9-4, before Pacific finally sided out at 9-5. It was mostly sideout after sideout until 12-8, when Pacific came up with three straight to claw back within a point at 12-11, the run culminating with a solo block for Taylor Hughes.
Sedore got the sideout for Hawaii after the sideout, but the next serve for the Warriors was a service error. On the rally ending 14-all, Averill was dug for the first time in the match, twice in fact. Hughes’ service error, straight into the net, got Hawaii to 15 first at 15-14. With a charged timeout coming so soon prior, the broadcast didn’t take the timeout. Sedore came up with the service ace after the media timeout that wasn’t, to put the Warriors back up by two. Adam Troy helped the Tigers get the sideout with great reception on Sedore’s serve on 16-14, leading to an easy kill. Troy then rotated to the service line himself and started a run on serve to put Pacific on top for the first time in a while, at 18-16 and Hawaii’s last timeout. The run continued after the timeout, putting what had seemed like an early night at the Stanley into doubt. Without timeouts, Hawaii played a little gamesmanship wiping sweat off the court to delay Troy’s next serve. That next serve started to fly long, for an overpass, but Ramos was able to redirect it with a dump attempt for his second kill of the night to make it 19-17.
Max Wechsung came in again as a serving sub, with the Warriors trailing 20-18, but rather than three aces, this time his one attempt went right into the net. 21-18 was an awkward rally, with Pacific coming up with what seemed like a very weak swing, but it still rebounded off the block and out to put them up four. Tunnell’s serve on 22-18 barely even hit the net at all, let alone clearing it, but everything else went the Tigers’ way. With Hughes leading a right-side block against Sedore, Pacific got to set point at 24-19. Marks’ hit on the next rally went above the block and about 10 feet long, forcing set 4.
Hawaii decided to go big to begin the 4th, with Jace Olsen starting the set in the front row. With Davis Holt making repeated mistakes early in the 4th, Hawaii subbed West back in in what appeared to be a move with a bit more permanence. Pacific scored the first three points of the 4th, but Hawaii ran it back to 5-4 on a long rally where the scoreboard rule came into play again. A sprawling dig from Matthew Cheape led to the ball hitting the scoreboard again, but it fell back on Hawaii’s side, so it was game on. Ramos came up with his third kill of the match later in the rally, artfully making it look like he was going for a regular set until the last possible instant. It continued sideout after sideout for a while after that until West’s middle hit flew long without a touch called, putting Pacific up 10-7. Hawaii stayed competitive, and drew it even at 13’s. The big difference, perhaps, was Averill subbing back in once West rotated to the back row. His sterling night, no longer perfect but still strong, brought it to 14-all. Sedore got it to the TV timeout with Hawaii’s first lead of the set at 15-14.
The always-demonstrative Siki Zarkovic showed little Joby Ramos his appreciation for the latter’s set on the rally ending 17-15 — by chest-bumping him. Almost resulted in jacking poor Joby in the jaw. West drew Carmody into the air on a beautiful fake on 17-16, leading to a pipe set for Zarkovic and another kill. Hawaii’s serve on 18-16 looked like it was going to fly wide, but Pacific played it. The rally ended with a kill for Sedore, but Caceres very nearly kept it alive for Pacifc — and nearly ate one of the courtside seats in so doing. Suddenly trailing by three after leading for a good portion of the early set, Pacific called time.
Hawaii should have gone up 20-17 a few points after the timeout, but Sedore was instead called for a net fault. The Canadian followed with a wide hit, drawing the set even again at 19’s. Further ties followed at 20 and 21, and Pacific went back on top with a block at 22-21. At 22-all, Marks entered the set for the first time, as a blocking sub for Ramos, leaving Averill to do the setting (he’s had some past experience at the position). Marks came up with the big kill (from Averill) to put the Warriors up 23-22, and a big kill for Jace Olsen on kind of a broken play got it to match point for the Warriors. Pacific took their timeout, perhaps to ice the server Zarkovic. Siki came up with a good serve, but Caceres came up with a better pass, leading to a kill for Matthew Houlihan. Pacific turned to their serving sub Peter Edwards, who went for it again….and it went straight into the net.
#12 Hawaii d. Pacific (25-22, 25-21, 19-25, 25-23)
Hawaii got the job done, bottom line. It wasn’t the prettiest match, but a win’s a win, and wins are what the Warriors need right now. Hawaii head coach Charlie Wade gave a brief interview at the end of the match, and he actually didn’t seem too happy with his team’s performance tonight. To a point, it makes sense. Pacific are probably the second-worst team in the league, better than only UCSD. But still, you gotta figure on some level he’s pleased to achieve what needed to happen tonight.
JP Marks indeed ended up hitting triple-zeroes on the night, at 6/6/21, but when dude comes up with 14 digs (nobody else on the team had more than 7), you can forgive an off-night offensively. The leading scorers for the Warriors were Zarkovic and Sedore, each coming up with 16 kills. Sedore had a pretty slow start, but heated up as the match wore on. Averill wound up 11/0/14, for a cool .786 clip, and came up with some big out-of-system sets to earn 3 set assists on the night too (all of them crucial). It was not a good night for Davis Holt, who hit minus at 2/4/9, but I expect to see him back out there tomorrow in the same rotations he was out there tonight.
Taylor Hughes led all scorers with 19 kills for the Tigers, followed by Adam Troy at 16. Surprisingly, it was Matthew Houlihan and not Javier Caceres who led them in digs, Houlihan reaching double-digits with 10. Goes without saying that it was a rough night for Peter Edwards as a serving sub, sealing the 2nd set and, by way of the 4th, the match with service errors. He’ll probably be back out there in the same role tomorrow, too, if for no other reason than Pacific really have nothing to lose by doing so.
Same two teams tomorrow night, and realistically, it’s another must-win for the Warriors. Right now they trail UCSB by 2 in the loss column for what will likely end up being the 8th and final playoff spot, so if they can reach the double-shot next week still trailing by 2 matches, that means they control their own destiny. Gotta get through tomorrow to do it, though.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
