Box Score

LA JOLLA, Calif. - The 13th ranked University of Hawai`i defeated unranked UC San Diego this evening in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match 35-33, 30-27, 30-19 at the RIMAC.

Hawai`i, who posted its sixth-straight victory, improves to 9-13 overall and 7-11 in the MPSF. UC San Diego falls to 5-19 and 2-16. UH leads the all-time series with UCSD, 36-0.

UCSD broke a two-all tie on a Gerald Houseman kill and held the lead until UH clawed its way back and tied it at 26. UH utilized its huge block late stavving off set point (28-29) with two-straight blocks by Matt Rawson and Eric Kalima and then outlasted the Tritons, 35-33. There were eight ties and two lead changes during the set.

In the second set, UH led 13-12 and then went on a mini run outscoring UCSD 5-1 to take an 18-13. The Tritons tied it at 24, but UH proved to strong in the end, winning five of the next six points to close it out, 30-27.

A Dio Dante kill and a Triton attack error gave UH a quick start in the third and never relinquished the lead sprinting to a 30-19 victory.

Lauri Hakala led the UH attack with 16 kills and hit .344. Dante pumped in 10 kills and posted a match-high 12 blocks. The Warriors hit .366 as a team with 25 digs and 22.0 blocks.

UC San Diego was led by Jason Spangler's 16 kills. Frank Fritsch and Will Ehrman contributed 12 and 11, respectively. UCSD dug 30 balls and had 5.0 blocks.

The Warriors return to Honolulu for a short week of school and workouts before heading back to the West Coast on Wednesday for two crucial MPSF matches at Long Beach State April 6-7.

-UH-