HONOLULU – In the first match under Head Coach Charlie Wade, the No. 12 University of Hawai'i Warrior volleyball team swept through the No. 10 Ohio State Buckeyes 30-20, 30-20 and 30-26 in front of a crowd of 2,828 in the Outrigger Hotels Invitational at the Stan Sheriff Center Thursday.

Joshua Walker had a huge night, hitting .652 with 17 kills and nine digs. Jonas Umlauft added 14 kills and two aces with Steven Grgas hitting .583 with seven kills and five blocks. Matt Rawson hit .538 with eight kills while Nejc Zemljak had 44 assists, five digs and three blocks.

Hawai'i jumped out early, going ahead 12-4 to start the first set. The Buckeyes never got within seven points the rest of the way as the Warriors cruised to a 30-20 first set victory. Walker hit a blistering .875 in the first set with seven kills on just eight swings.

After a back-and-forth start to the second set, UH used a big 10-3 run to open up a 17-11 lead. Hawai'i continued to keep the pressure on the rest of the way, taking a 30-20 win in the second set.

The third set was tight throughout with 16 ties and seven lead changes. Hawai'i broke out late with a 7-3 run that got them match point at 29-25, the first four-point advantage of the set. After allowing one last Ohio State point, Walker put away a final kill to end it 30-26.

The Warriors face No. 5 Penn State tomorrow in the second day of the invitational, starting at 7:05 p.m. Top-ranked Southern California, who swept Penn State earlier in the day, will play Ohio State at 4:05 p.m.

-UH-