Box Score

PROVO, Utah - The 12th-ranked University of Hawai`i men's volleyball team was knocked off at No. 4 Brigham Young in four sets tonight at the Smith Fieldhouse in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match.

Hawai`i falls to 3-10 overall and 3-8 in the MPSF, while the Cougars snap a four-match skid and improve to 10-4 and 6-3. BYU won 28-30, 30-22, 30-22 and 30-24. The two teams complete the two-match series Saturday at 7:00 p.m. MST.

BYU jumped out to a 10-6 lead in Game 1 before the Warriors mounted their comeback and took the lead, 12-11. The two teams played virtually sideout volleyball until UH extended its lead to 25-23 on a kill by Lauri Hakala, who made his first appearance on the court since Feb. 8. UH took advantage of two-straight attacking errors by the Cougars and then Dio Dante put down a set to make it 28-24. The Warriors held on to win the first set, 30-28.

The Cougars scored quickly in Game 2, leaping out to a 5-1 lead and increased it to 17-11. UH pulled to within 25-22 before BYU went on a 5-0 run to close it out and tie the match at a game apiece.

BYU again took an early lead, 11-7, however, UH scratched back into the set, tying it at 11. The two teams traded points. With BYU leading 17-16, the match began to sway in favor of the Cougars. BYU got kills by Robby Stowell and Ivan Perez to got up by three. The teams traded points until 21-18. Then BYU went on a 7-0 en route to a 30-22 win.

In the fourth set, UH came out strong taking a 7-6 lead. But after a kill and ace by the Cougars, they never relinquished the lead in closing out the match, 30-24.

Outside hitter Jim Clar led the way for the Warriors pounding down a team-high 17 kills. Lauri Hakala added 15 kills in his first action in almost two weeks. The Warriors as a team hit .244 on the night with 30 digs and 14.5 blocks.

BYU hit a whopping .455 overall led by Yosleyder Cala's match-high 26 kills. Perez posted 23 kills, while Stowell and Russell Holmes added 19 and 10, respectively.

The win by the Cougars snapped UH's two-match win streak over BYU. The two teams meet again Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. MST.

-UH-