Box Score

HONOLULU - The third-ranked University of Hawai`i men's volleyball team swept USC tonight 30-22, 30-26, 30-26 in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Warriors (10-1, 8-0 MPSF) won all phases of the game tonight after going five last night with the Trojans. UH out hit (.350 to .240) and out blocked (14.0 to 2.0) USC, running its win streak to eight.

Matt Bender slammed down a match-high 15 kills while hitting at a .290 clip. Lauri Hakala and Maulia La Barre posted 10 kills apiece.

It was all UH from the very first serve. In Game One, UH hit a mere .214 but held USC to .000 hitting percentage while out blocking the Trojans 7-1.

USC out hit UH in Game Two, .379 to .333, but the Warriors got three aces, three more blocks, six USC service errors, and five hitting errors to pull out a four point win, 30-26.

Bender was the spark plug in Game Three hammering seven kills, including two late in the game to give UH some breathing room.

Hakala and Alfred Reft were served 21 and 27 times, respectively, without committing a reception error. Brian Beckwith got the attack rolling dishing out 44 assists, disecting the USC defense as UH posted a .350 team hitting percentage.

USC (4-12, 1-8 MPSF) was led offensively by Andrew Vernon who collected 11 kills.

Hawai`i heads to Los Angeles next week for a pair of MPSF matches against No. 1 UCLA Feb. 25 and 26 at Pauley Pavillion.