Box Score

HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team served their way past Long Beach State, 30-21, 28-30, 30-23, 30-25 Friday in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match at the Stan Sheriff Center.

 

The Warriors (13-7, 9-6 MPSF) served up 11 aces, including a career-high seven by Nejc Zemljak. Opposite Jonas Umlauft led UH with 18 kills while outside hitter Joshua Walker added 15 kills. Middle blocker Steven Grgas had a team-high six blocks along with five kills.

 

Dean Bittner led the Beach (11-9, 7-6) with 18 kills.

 

In Set 1, the Warriors jumped out to a 13-6 lead before the 49ers cut the deficit in half. UH answered with a 5-1 run and pushed its lead to 21-12. The Warriors hit .321 in the set while limiting the Beach to -.025.

 

In a see-saw second set, the Warriors scored four straight, with kills by Hunt, Walker, and Umlauft, for a 26-22 lead. The Beach responded with four straight to tie the score at 27 and closed out the set with a 7-1 run after consecutive hitting errors by Walker, his first two of the night.

 

In the pivotal third set, the Warriors led 14-10 halfway through and 22-16 after scoring three straight. UH led 24-17 before the Beach answered with four straight sparked by a pair of Dan Alexander aces. But unlike the previous set, the Warriors managed to close out the game by scoring six of the final eight points.

 

The Warriors grabbed the early lead in Set 4 at 11-7. Moments later, UH put the match away with Zemljak at the service line with three straight aces and a 25-15 lead.

 

The two teams play again on Saturday. First serve is 7:00 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.