Fall of Warriors after splendid win over UC SD in season opener – Volleyball news
The University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team opened the season in a great way and posted a straight-sets win over UC San Diego on Thursday, January 5, 2012.
The Stan Sheriff Centre in Honolulu, Hawaii hosted the cracking volleyball fight. However, the Warriors failed to carry the momentum into their next match against UC SD, which was played on the very next day to their victory. The two teams crossed their
paths on Friday, January 6, while UC SD took revenge from UH. The Tritons of San Diego responded in the same tone and defeated UH with final score of 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-22).
Carl Eberts of Tritons staged stellar action on the net and devastated the resilient rival. He tallied match-high 14 kills with a hitting percentage of .478. Johl Awerkamp followed him up with eight kills and contributed to the overall success of UC SD,
while Greg Smith posted seven blocks. On the other hand, the senior outside hitter Steven Hunt of Warriors, who did a great job in the first match, repeated his wonderful performance in the second match against Tritons. He was the only one in UH’s squad who
scored double-digit kills. He notched 13 kills in the failing effort.
The raged-up Tritons opened the match with powerful serves and picked up an early lead of 11-6. They attacked from all angles and offered solid blocks to Hawaiian force. They remained consistent and maintained a fair gap of points in the first set. The Warriors
tried different tactics to overcome the Tritons but could not press them down. The UC SD team continued with success from start to end and claimed first set 25-21. Mike Brunsting and Carl Eberts played an instrumental role in Triton’s success in the first
frame.
The second set had a sort of similarity with the previous set. The Tritons remained ahead of Warriors with 12-9 and kept the operations of game well under hand. The Warriors attacked through Steven Hunt and managed to catch up with the Tritons at 17-all.
Afterwards, the two sides exchanged long rallies and tried to claim every little point in the game. UC SD got lucky to retake lead at 22-20 and struggled to extend their lead in the game. An attack error by Nick West caused the damage to Warriors and they
gave another set to Tritons. The second set also ended with the identical score of 25-21.
Warriors scored the first three points in third set and picked up 6-3 lead in the next few minutes. Meanwhile, the Tritons hit back and rallied to take a 10-9 lead. The teams traded sideouts until rallied 3-0 run for an 18-15 lead. Finally, the Tritons
won the match by taking third set, 25-22.
In the next run, the Warriors will return to action at the 18th Outrigger Hotels Volleyball Invitational, which is set to take centre stage from next Thursday to Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Centre. Likewise, the Tritons are scheduled to host non-conference
opponent Loyola-Chicago on Wednesday, January 11.
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