UCI loses battle

Steve Virgen

On a night when the UC Irvine men’s volleyball made history, it

was the experience of the atmosphere that mattered most for the

Anteaters. The momentous matchup of No. 1 UCI vs. No. 2 Hawaii

provided the Anteaters a big taste of pressure-packed volleyball.

Hawaii (6-1, 2-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation)

defeated previously unbeaten UCI, 30-18, 24-30, 30-18, 30-26 in front

of a record crowd of 3,235 Friday night at the Bren Events Center.

The largest crowd for a volleyball match at UCI was April 17, 1999,

against Stanford with 1,200 at Crawford Hall.

The Anteaters dropped to 10-1, 3-1 in the MPSF.

“There was so much about this match I was excited about because it

presented such an opportunity for us to learn and get better,” said

John Speraw, UCI’s first-year coach. “Playing in this big arena

environment, playing for this size of a crowd, playing against a team

that won a national championship, this is what I wanted. This is

going to make us a better team in the long run. I would really like

to thank the fans for coming out because I don’t think they realize

how much they helped us, and how much they’re going to help us

develop as a team and get prepared for another match of this caliber

with a big crowd.”

Hawaii, the defending national champion, is acclimated to the

big-match environment. The Warriors play in front of crowds of

4,500-6,000 at the Stan Sheriff Center in Hawaii. They felt at home

at the Bren. Yet, that wasn’t what made the difference in this match.

Hawaii’s strong serves and the 1-2 punch of senior Costas

Theocharidis, a three-time All-American, and 6-foot-7 sophomore

Delano Thomas proved to be too much for the Anteaters to handle.

Theocharidis, from Orestiada, Greece and one of five international

players on the team, led the Warriors with 20 kills and eight digs,

while the imposing Thomas had 17 kills. The duo led the Warriors to

the Game 4 win, in which Hawaii pulled away from a 25-25 tie and won,

30-26.

The Warriors had more digs than the Anteaters, 32-28.

“Beside the fact we lost I’m really happy with what we went

through because getting good at the end of the year is a process and

this is an important element in the process,” Speraw said. “We played

a team that does some things that are very, very physical, much more

physical than any team in the league that we’ve faced so far. We need

to adjust to that. That’s why this match was such a great

experience.”

UCI countered with junior opposite Jimmy Pelzel, who amassed a

match-high 24 kills. For the first time this season, senior Monte

Tucker finished below double-digit kills. He had five. David Kniffin,

the Anteaters’ junior center, contributed 50 assists, while Tucker

added eight digs and Pelzel produced seven digs.

Pelzel recording five kills in the second game, leading UCI to a

30-24 win. When the Anteaters needed a point or a shift in momentum,

they went to Pelzel.

“It was sort of surreal being in your home arena and having this

many people,” said Pelzel, who was impressed with Hawaii’s composure.

“They served the ball harder than the teams we have faced this year.

They know how to step up big in these situations. They’re the

national champions. I’m definitely excited to go out there and split

the series with them (tonight). We want to show them we’re a team

that’s as good as people say we are. I think we can do it.”

The Anteaters and the Warriors will clash again today at 5 p.m. at

Crawford Hall. It will be another historic night, as it will most

likely be the first time UCI has turned away fans for a volleyball

match. Because Crawford Hall is under construction, the capacity

crowd is 700 (it’s normally 1,400). UCI is admitting fans on a

first-come basis today.

“The last match of the year is going to be in a big arena with a

crowd like this,” Speraw said in reference to the national

championship match. “Hawaii is used to that because they’ve been

there and they play in a big arena. This made us a better team

night.”

Friday night’s match will be televised on Cox Communications

(Channel 3) today at 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. Today’s match will not be

televised.