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HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team hosts a pivotal two-match Mountain Pacific Sports Federation series with UC Santa Barbara, Thursday, March 5 and Friday, March 6 at the Stan Sheriff Center. First serve for both matches is 7:00 p.m.

 

The 12th-ranked Warriors (3-10, 2-8 MPSF) and 14th-ranked Gauchos (4-11, 2-10) sit in 10th and 11th place, respectively, in the league standings. The top eight teams advance to the MPSF Tournament.

 

Hawai'i dropped a pair of league matches at home to seventh-ranked Stanford last week and have lost four straight overall. The Gauchos lost road matches at No. 5 USC in four and No. 1 Pepperdine in three last week.

 

UH and UCSB have met 65 times with the Warriors holding a 39-26 advantage. However the Gauchos have had recent success winning the last four meetings and nine of the last 16 since 2001.

What: No. 12 Hawai'i (3-10, 2-8 MPSF) vs. No. 14 UC Santa Barbara (4-11, 2-10 MPSF)

When: Thursday, March 5, and Friday, March 6

Time: 7:00 p.m. HST each night

Where: Stan Sheriff Center; Honolulu, HI

Television Coverage: KFVE-TV (Ch. 5) will televise both matches live with Jim Leahey (play-by-play) and Chris McLachlin (color). Rebroadcast at 10:30 p.m. each night.

Streaming Video: Live video streaming is available on uhstreaming.oceanic.com.

Radio Coverage: None

Audio Webcast: None

Live Stats: Live stats of both matches are available on HawaiiAthletics.com

Promotions: “Alumni Night.” UH Alumni Association members receive 50% off tickets (maximum of six). A valid Alumni Association membership card is required when purchasing tickets at the Stan Sheriff Center Box Office or on game night. Advance purchases are encouraged. Tickets are in special sections and supplies are limited. Other restrictions may apply.

Tickets: Lower-level $11; Upper-level adult $8, Upper-level senior citizen $7; Upper-level youth tickets (high school and under) $3. All UH system students with valid ID are FREE.

Series History: UH leads 39-26. UCSB has won the last four matches in the series including a series sweep at the Stan Sheriff Center in 2007.

UH needs one more win to reach No. 500 in its 31st season of intercollegiate play. Hawai'i has compiled a 499-273 (.647) all-time record since 1979.

Team captain Sean Carney's mantra is help the team where ever he can. That was evident in last week's series with seventh-ranked Stanford. Carney, who had started the team's first 11 matches at setter this season, moved to outside hitter and averaged 2.5 kills per set during the series. In his place, Nejc Zemljak started at setter. Last season, Carney also spent some time at outside hitter playing four matches during the UC San Diego and Pepperdine series. 

With auditions taking place at the three outside hitter positions, middle blocker Steven Grgas got his turn on night two of last week's Stanford series. Grgas who is a converted middle blocker, returned to his natural position in Sets 2 and 3 and finished the night with a team-high 10 kills, five digs, and five blocks. This season, head coach Mike Wilton has used different variations of outside hitters between Steven Hunt, Gus Tuaniga, Joshua Walker, Brennon Dyer, Jim Clar, Joseph Strotman, Sean Carney, and Grgas.

UH's 3-10 record through its first 13 matches marks the second time in three seasons that the team has started out the season slowly. In 2007, the Warriors were 3-13 before posting a 10-match win streak to close out the regular season. In 1991, UH was 3-11 before finishing with a 7-17 record.

Libero Ric Cervantes has been a steady defender in the backrow for the Warriors this season. Cervantes leads the team and ranks fifth in the MPSF in digs, averaging 2.93 per set, including a 3.15 average in league matches. Through 43 career matches, Cervantes ranks ninth all-time in school history in digs and has a 2.92 per set average, which is No. 1 all-time.

Sophomore outside hitter Joshua Walker has been in and out of the starting lineup throughout the season. The Virginia Beach, Va., native is still tied for the team-lead with a 3.72 kill average along with freshman Steven Hunt. Walker has reached double figures in kills in six of 12 matches. Last season, Walker ranked second on the team with a 3.57 kill average and started 21 of 24 matches.

Statistically, the Warriors' most consistent player this season is freshman Steven Hunt. The Toronto, Ontario native is averaging 3.72 kills, 1.62 digs, and 0.38 blocks per set . Hunt has double figure kill totals in seven of the 11 matches and is passing at 96 percent. He had a career-high 24 kills in a four-set loss to Pepperdine.

Despite a 3-10 record, Hawai'i is ranked in the AVCA Top 15 poll due in part to its strength of schedule. All 13 of the Warriors' opponents were ranked in the Top 10 at the time of the match, including then-top-ranked Penn State, then-No. 2 Cal State Northridge and then-No. 3 Pepperdine. UH swept a two-match series with CSUN, which is ranked No. 1 this week.

Hawai'i holds a 217-116 (.652) all-time record in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation since the 1993 season, all under head coach Mike Wilton. UH posted one perfect season of 19-0 during the 1996 campaign and made 14-straight MPSF playoffs, until ending that streak last season when the Warriors finished below .500 in conference play for the first time under Wilton. 

The Warriors were picked 13th in the preseason Bison/AVCA Division I-II poll and ninth in the preseason Mountain Pacific Sports Federation poll. Defending NCAA champion Penn State heads the Top 15 national poll with 14 first place votes and 236 points. UCLA and Pepperdine were tied for the top spot in the MPSF coaches poll with 104 votes.

The Warriors have called the Stan Sheriff Center home since 1994 and it has provided a dominant home court advantage. UH has led the nation in attendance all 14 years and hold a 181-85 (.680) record including an impressive 109-40 (.732) mark in MPSF play.

Former Warrior Clay Stanley, who led the United States men's volleyball team to Olympic gold at the 2008 Games in Beijing, China, was one of four inductees in the UH Sports Circle of Honor. Stanley, a two-time Olympian, was selected as the tournament's Most Valuable Player as well as best scorer and best server. He was inducted in the Class of 2008 along with Olympian Heather Bown, former athletics director Ray Nagel, and multi-sport legend Jack Johnson.