Box Score

HONOLULU – In a match that was postponed two days, the University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team swept BYU, 30-27, 30-26, 30-25 Monday night in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match at the Stan Sheriff Center.

 

The match ended a five-week homestand for the Warriors (10-5, 6-4 MPSF) which was 6-2 (not including an exhibition series against Alberta) during that stretch. It also marked the first time since 2006 that the Warriors swept the series against the Cougars (9-6, 7-5).

 

The match was delayed two days after Saturday's tsunami postponed the match which was supposed to be played on Maui at a sold-old War Memorial Gym. Instead the teams agreed to play at the Stan Sheriff Center on Monday.

 

The win moves the Warriors into a tie for fourth place in the MPSF standings.

 

For the second time against the Cougars, UH's big three of Jonas Umlauft (15 kills), Joshua Walker (15) and Steven Hunt (12) led the way. Umlauft added eight digs, Walker hit .417 with seven digs, and Hunt hit .375 and added six digs and three blocks.

 

As a team, UH hit .336 and served six aces compared to only one for BYU. The Cougars' Robb Stowell had a team-high 12 kills.

 

In Set 1, the Warriors grabbed a three-point lead at the media timeout before the Cougars tied it at 18 and surged ahead 22-20. Hawai'i then scored five straight with consecutive kills by Umlauft, Walker, and Hunt. The Warriors closed out the set with Umlauft's sixth kill.

 

The Warriors started Set 2 with two straight aces by setter Nejc Zemljak, who finished with three for the night and seven in the series. UH led 17-11 before the Cougars chipped away and closed to within 21-20. The Warriors got the advantage at 27-23 after three straight points ending with an Umlauft dink. UH took the set when Stowell served long.

 

UH jumped out to another early lead in Set 3, scoring the first four points. BYU narrowed the deficit to 7-6 and tied the score at 10. After both teams were warned for taunting, the Warriors scored the next four points and led 16-11 at the midway point. UH extended its lead to 20-14 and the Cougars could only get as close as three the rest of the way.

 

The Warriors hit the road for a four-match road trip at Cal State Northridge, March 5-6 and at USC, March 8-9.