Box Score

HONOLULU – For the second straight night, the University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team dropped a tough four-set match to UCLA. The fourth-ranked Bruins won 30-26, 23-30, 30-25, 30-28, Friday, in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match at the Stan Sheriff Center.

 

The Warriors (6-5, 4-4 MPSF) did not go down without a fight, hitting for .348 and out-blocking the Bruins, 9-7.5. UH was led by Joshua Walker's 25 kills on .413 hitting, a stark contrast to his eight kills and .033 hitting a night earlier. Jonas Umlauft had 16 kills while Steven Hunt added 12 kills. All three outside hitters hit for over 32 percent.

 

The Bruins (6-5, 5-3), who hit .371 for the match, were led by Garrett Muagututia's 25 kills. On Thursday, he hit for 21 kills in a 27-30, 30-25, 30-26, 30-25 victory.

 

In a tightly contested Set 1 in which both teams hit over .400, the Bruins got some breathing room at 25-22 with consecutive points. The Bruins sided-out the rest of the way en route to a 30-26 victory. Walker and Muagututia each had seven kills for their respective teams.

 

The Warriors jumped out to a 7-4 lead in Set 2 after a pair of Bruin hitting errors and an ace by Umlauft. Hawai'i led 16-12 before UCLA rallied with three straight points to within 17-16. UH answered right back with four straight points of their own and a 7-3 run put the game away.

 

The Bruins led 4-1 to open Set 3 and extended their lead to 11-6. After two straight aces by Kevin Ker, the Bruins led 14-7. Moments later, behind gritty defense, the Warriors answered with six straight points to pull within 20-19 forcing UCLA coach Al Scates to burn both timeouts. With the score 21-20, the Bruins scored four straight to pull away.

 

In Set 4, the Warriors led 8-7 but the Bruins were the first to 15 taking a three point advantage. Hawai'i battled back and took a brief 21-20 lead before UCLA reeled off three straight forcing UH to burn its last timeout. But the Warriors would not fold their tents rallying to the set at 25 and again at 26. Following a Muagututia kill, the Bruins blocked Umlauft for a 28-26 lead. Two points later, Muagututia ended it with his 25^th kill.

 

The Warriors continue their five-week homestand by hosting a pair of exhibition matches against Alberta of Canada, Friday, Feb. 12 and Saturday, Feb. 13. First serve is 7:00 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.