Box Score

HONOLULU - The 13th ranked Loyola-Chicago outlasted No. 5 Hawai`i tonight 30-23, 30-32, 28-30, 31-29, 15-7 on the first night of the Outrigger Hotels Invitational at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Ramblers (40-, 1-0 OHI) shocked the crowd of 3,584 with a five-set victory over the Warriors (2-3, 0-1 OHI).

LUC got a balanced attack offensively as four attackers posted double-digit kills led by Ian Anderson's 23. James Grunst slameed down 16, while the duo of Krisjanis and Nick Lamoureux contributed 11 apiece. Setter Brian Guntli handed out 65 assists as the Ramblers hit .291 on the night.

LUC came out strong in game one handing UH a 30-23 setback as the Ramblers hit .400 in the opening set.

However, UH regrouped to take the next two games 32-30 and 30-28 as UH hit .357 in game two and only .243 in game three. The turning point in the match came in game four.

With UH up 25-21, LUC stormed back with five unanswered points to take a 26-25 lead. The Warriors stavved off a game point to tie it at 29 on a Matt Vanzant kill, but LUC got a kill from Lamoureux and a Lauri Hakala hitting error to send it to a fifth and deciding set.

In game five, the Ramblers jumped out to a 3-0 lead and kept the three point swing at 8-5. Then LUC went on a 7-2 run to close out the match. The Ramblers hit a whopping .529 in the final set.

Hawai`i was led by Jim Clar's career-high 22 kills. Hakala added 17 and Vanzant 10. Brian Beckwith dished out 57 assists, but the Warriors hit only .226 on the night.

UH takes on Penn State Saturday night who lost earlier in the day to No. 2 Brigham Young. The Cougars battle Loyola-Chicago at 4:00 p.m. Saturday with UH and Penn State in the nightcap at 7:00 p.m.

Because of the abreviated 2-day format, there will be no champion crowned in the tourney because the teams will not have the true round-robin syster, but an all-tournament team of seven will be chosen the coaches and media.

-UH-