Box Score

MALIBU, Calif. - The 13th ranked University of Hawai`i men's volleyball (11-16, 8-14) concluded their 2008 season with an exciting finish as they stunned the No. 5 Pepperdine Waves (13-10, 12-10) in five sets, 30-26, 30-23, 26-30, 23-30, 15-13, Saturday night at the Firestone Fieldhouse.

Second-year freshman Joshua Walker led the Warriors with 18 kills followed by senior Jacob Schkud who had 17 in the last match of his career. Schkud was second on the team with nine digs and led the team with five blocks, including his 10th solo block of the year.

Junior Sean Carney who made his second straight start on the outside was third on the squad with 15 kills, a new career-high. Freshman setter Nejc Zemljak in his second consecutive start had a match-high 57 assists.

The Warriors shook off last nights sweep and stunned the Waves in the first set as they won 30-26. UH jumped out to a 4-0 lead and took charge early. The Waves came back late in the game after being down 26-21. They knocked off three straight points to pull within 26-24. However, the Waves committed two errors and the Warriors won the game. UH outhit the Waves .281 to .100 despite the Warriors having seven attack errors and seven service errors.

UH overwhelmed the Waves in the second set and took game two, 30-23. Both teams were engaged in a tight game and were tied at 18. The Warriors put together a 3-0 run capped by a Pepperdine attack error and got the cushion they needed down the stretch. Pepperdine was unable to get closer because the Waves could not hit effectively and committed a costly 13 attack errors.

Pepperdine ended UH's momentum in the match and won game three, 30-26. The Waves showed no signs of being down two games, and went on a 6-0 run early in the set to take a 8-4 lead. The Warriors had trouble recovering from that initial run but got to within two at 24-22, off two Wave errors and a kill by Carney. Pepperdine outhit UH .393 to .154 and proved to be too much for the Warriors late in the game.

The Warriors dropped their second consecutive game and Pepperdine forced a pivotal fifth set. The Warriors had the lead at 15-14 but Pepperdine rallied for five straight points. The Warriors would not get closer and the Waves went on a 6-0 run to close out the game to win 30-23.

The Warriors had an impressive fifth set and regained their composure to upset the Waves, 15-13. Schkud led UH in the last game of his career and tallied four kills and a service ace. A kill by Schkud gave UH a 7-5 lead but the Waves had three straight points to take the lead at 8-7. Both teams tied it up at 12 off a kill by Walker. The Waves on the next play committed an attack error and then called a timeout down 13-12 with the momentum swinging UH's way. Schkud then slammed down a kill to give UH match point at 14-12 and Walker finished off the Waves for UH snapping their five-match losing streak.

The top eight teams in the MPSF will play the postseason tournament starting next week. UH, ranked ninth in the 12 member league, is out of the postseason for the first time since 1993.

-UH-