HONOLULU, Friday, Jan. 18, 2001 -- The top-ranked Penn State men¡¯s volleyball team fell to fifth-ranked Hawaii Thursday night in three games (21-30, 22-30, 27-30) in their opening-round match at the Outrigger Hotels Invitational in Honolulu. The Lions fall to 1-1 on the season while the Warriors improve to 2-1 overall.
Junior Zeljko Koljesar (Kitchener, Ontario) paced the Lions with 14 kills and four digs. Senior setter Jos¨¦ Qui?ones (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) directed the Penn State offense with 36 assists in the loss. Overall, the Lions hit .247 for the match compared to .562 by Hawaii. The Warriors also dominated the net, outblocking Penn State 8-1.5. The Lions won the digging war, picking up 15 to Hawaii¡¯s 12. Both teams struggled from behind the line, committing a total of 31 service errors (Penn State, 13; Hawaii, 18).
For Hawaii, returning AVCA Player of the Year Costas Theocharidis tallied a match-high 21 kills on 30 attempts with one error (.667). Warrior freshman middle hitter Delano Thomas was the only other player in double-digit kills, recording 11 enroute to hitting .562 on the night.
Penn State is back in action Friday, Jan. 18 as it takes on second-ranked UCLA on the second night of action at the Outrigger Invitational. Game time is slated for 9:30 p.m. ET. The Lions conclude their Hawaiian swing on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 10:00 p.m. ET when they face 11th-ranked Lewis. The Bruins defeated Lewis in the opening match of the Invitational on Thursday, 3-1 (30-25, 23-30, 30-24, 30-24). UCLA is the four-time defending champion of the event.
--LIONS--
