Box Score

HONOLULU – With the island of O'ahu bracing for high winds, the University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team and third-ranked Pepperdine battled in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match, Thursday, at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Waves rallied for a 24-30, 30-23, 30-24, 30-22 victory in the MPSF opener for both teams.

 

Reserve outside hitter Brennon Dyer came off the bench to lead UH (1-3, 0-1 MPSF) with 14 kills. Freshman Gus Tuaniga had nine kills and 13 digs while junior middle blocker Matt Rawson pounded down nine kills and had three blocks. Setter Sean Carney dished out 38 assists and shared team-high honors with libero Ric Cervantes with 16 digs.

 

All-American Paul Carroll had a match-high 18 kills for the Waves (2-0, 1-0). Cory Reiks added 17 kills and 10 digs. Tyler Jaynes had nine of the team's 17.5 blocks.

 

As a team, the Waves hit .276 compared to .105 for the Warriors. Pepperdine out-blocked UH, 17.5-7 and had 64 total digs with five players in double-figures.

 

Down 18-15 in Game 1, Dyer sparked a 9-1 UH run with three kills and a block that put the Warriors ahead 24-19. The Waves never threatened the rest of the way as the Warriors cruised to a 30-24 win. Tuaniga led the way with five kills while Dyer had four on six swings.

 

In Game 2, the Waves jumped out to a 9-6 lead after blocking Steven Hunt on consecutive swings. After UH tied it a 9, Pepperdine surged ahead 15-11 at the media timeout. The Warriors closed to 15-14 but the Waves broke it open with an 8-2 run that put them up 25-18 and powered them to a 30-23 win.

 

The Waves took an 8-4 lead early on in Game 3 before the Warriors rallied to take a 12-11 lead with aces by Rawson and Tuaniga. Pepperdine led 15-13 at the media timeout and scored four straight sparked by three UH hitting errors. With the Waves ahead 27-20, the Warriors put together a mini-run with four straight points to make things interesting. However, Pepperdine closed out the set with a kill and block by Riecks and a 30-24 win.

 

In Game 4, the Waves had an 8-2 surge to break open a 17-10 lead. Pepperdine increased its lead to as many as 28-18 before closing out the game 30-22.

 
Heavy winds, which are expected to hit the islands on Friday, have already caused the closure of the UH-Manoa campus as well as all public and private schools and government offices throughout the island.

The teams are scheduled for a rematch on Friday at 7:05 p.m., however, in the event that the heavy winds cause damage to the university, the match may be rescheduled for 9:00 a.m. on Saturday.