Box Score

HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team moved one step closer to a playoff berth with a 28-30, 30-25, 30-24, 30-28 victory over UC San Diego Friday night in the first of two Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matches at the Stan Sheriff Center.

UH (16-8, 12-7 MPSF) needs one more win to secure a berth into the MPSF Tournament, which would end a two-year playoff drought. The Warriors also snapped a two-match losing streak to the Tritons.

Newcomer of the year candidate Jonas Umlauft led the Warriors with a match-high 28 kills. The freshman from Germany hit .435 and had seven digs and three blocks.

Outside hitter Joshua Walker added 17 kills, two aces, and eight digs. His 17 kills put him in elite company as he became the 12th Warrior all-time to record 1,000 career kills. Middle blocker Matthew Rawson had nine kills and a team-high four blocks, while outside hitter Steven Hunt posted 10 kills, four digs, and three blocks.

As a team, the Warriors hit .331 compared to UCSD's .272. The Tritons were led by Frank Fritsch's 22 kills on .410 hitting. 

No team took more than a two point lead in a tightly contested Set 1. The Warriors grabbed the lead at 27-25 following an ace by Walker and kill by Hunt. With Jason Spangler at the service line, the Tritons reeled off four straight for a 29-27 lead. UCSD finished off the set with a kill by Fritsch.

The Warriors jumped out to an 8-4 lead in Set 2. UH extended its lead to 17-12 with a run of four straight points. The Tritons pulled to within 24-22 but back-to-back kills by Umlauft enabled the Warriors to pull away.

Set 3 was much like the previous game as the Warriors led early 9-5 and 15-11. UCSD closed to within 21-19 before the Warriors scored four of the next five points for a commanding 25-20 lead.

UH's block came alive in Set 4 and the Warriors reeled off four straight for a 13-8 lead. UCSD rallied back and took an 18-16 advantage and again at 22-20. Hawai'i responded and Ernie Vidinha's solo block gave the Warriors a 26-24 cushion. Two Triton hitting errors put UH on top 28-24 and on UH's third match point, Brennon Dyer put down his fifth kill of the night.

The teams play again on Saturday in the final regular season home match for the Warriors. First serve is 7:00 p.m. Following the match, UH will honor six seniors – Ric Cervantes, Justin Ching, Steven Grgas, Rawson, Joseph Strotman, and Vidinha – in the traditional “Senior Night” ceremony.