UH shows its heart in beating UCLA

Stanley-led victory one of 'Bows best

For sheer shock value, the University of Hawaii's victory over UCLA and its aura of invincibility Saturday might be the most compelling home match in the remarkable history of Hawaii volleyball.

There have been more important matches between higher ranked teams with more charismatic players. But never before has a team whose heart was questioned more than that of some bypass patients upset the 17-time NCAA champions.

Eighth ranked Hawaii controlled the game and its destiny in its 16-14, 15-11, 14-16, 17-15 victory over the third-ranked Bruins.

When it ended, 3 hours after it began, the Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 6,122 joyfully stood in awe. No one wanted to leave. Especially not the Rainbows (19-9), who had swerved through a roller-coaster regular season without convincing anyone they were a real threat.

Stanley: Blasted team-record 50 kills

"We played good and Clay (Stanley) had his greatest night as a Rainbow -- maybe in his volleyball career," said Andre Breuer, still sky-high hours after his final match in Hawaii. "I think we had it in us all throughout the season. It just came out tonight, which was just the right timing.

"The crowd was so into it."

Only the truly faithful came the final night. They were deafening. The Rainbows' crowds had tapered to 6,225 this season, falling below 7,000 for the first time since the arena opened. It is an astounding number for any other program, but not in a place where people plan lives around the sport and have made it the country's only revenue producing volleyball program.

Saturday's victory was redemption for the faithful and the Rainbows, who now play at top-ranked Brigham Young in Thursday's Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament semifinal. All along everyone knew they possessed the talent, but now their tenacity can no longer be questioned.

That was answered when Hawaii overcame a 2-10 first game deficit after coach Mike Wilton brought in Stanley, who would finish with a school-record 50 kills, and Russell Lockwood.

It was answered again when Chris Kosty served seven straight in a breathtaking -- and extremely rare -- run that won the first game and probably the match.

At the end, Hawaii had more answers -- and weapons and inner fortitude -- than UCLA. Between Stanley's offense, Dejan Miladinovic's UH-record 22 block assists and the constant contributions of every other Rainbow, UH beat UCLA in each statistical category. That includes serving, where the Bruins' seven aces were buried among 33 errors -- 18 by All-Americans Brandon Taliaferro and Adam Naeve.

"What's really sweet about this, Wilton said, "is a big demon was exorcised if they'll realize that. This was the first time against a quality team where we hung in there.

"If we lost our courage a little toward the end of Game 3 and a little in Game 4, we got it back and that's what's neat. We got it back. We remembered how to go for it."

The Rainbows left that thought with UCLA, which fought off three match points in the fourth game and rallied to get a game point, only to have Hawaii finish it in another flurry of excellence.

"It seemed like they were confident," Kosty said of the Bruins. "They were saying, `We can take these guys.' Then, when we caught them at 15-15 they just went, "Isn't the game supposed to be over? Isn't it supposed to be the fifth game?"

Not this time. Not against this team. As Breuer, Mason "Secret Asian Man" Kuo and Kosty walked out of the arena after their final home game, the shock waves were just hitting the Mainland.

Hours earlier, at Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, BYU had slammed Pacific. Asked about the Cougars' next match, BYU coach Carl McGown was already working on a UCLA gameplan.

"It has to be (UCLA)," McGown told The Salt Lake Tribune. "UCLA is just a lot better than Hawaii."

Not this time.

QUICK SETS: Sixth-ranked Indiana-Purdue won the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association championship -- and a final four berth -- with a 16-14, 15-13, 15-13 victory over fifth-ranked Ohio State last night. ... Clay Stanley's 50 kills -- in 92 swings -- broke a UH record set by Yuval Katz in the 1996 NCAA final. Katz had 47 kills in 94 swings during the five game loss. ... Dejan Miladinovic's 22 block assists broke Jerry Kukuruda's 18 year-old record of 21. Miladinovic tied Kukuruda's record of 22 total blocks, also set in 1981 against Hawaii Pacific. Miladinovic needs 11 block assists to break Andre Breuer's season record of 159, set last year. ... Hawaii is now 4-0 in MPSF Tournament first-round home matches. ... The Bruins will host this year's final four. They have never lost at an NCAA Championship played at Pauley Pavilion. Unless something outrageous happens next weekend, they won't have a chance to lose this year. ... Junior Brandon Taliaferro is second on UCLA's career assist list, behind Punahou graduate Stein Metzger.

MPSF Playoffs

FIRST ROUND
Saturday's Results
   Hawaii def. UCLA (16-14, 15-11, 14-16, 17-15)
   Brigham Young def. Pacific (15-7, 15-5, 15-2)
   Long Beach State def, UC-Irvine (15-7, 15-10, 15-6)
   Southern California def. Pepperdine (15-9, 11-15, 15-9, 15-6)

SEMIFINALS
Thursday's Games
   Hawaii at Brigham Young
   Southern California at Long Beach