Match Notes

The University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team returns to the court following its first bye week of the season when it travels to Long Beach, Calif., for a two-match Mountain Pacific Sports Federation series against No. 7 Long Beach State. First serve is 7:00 p.m. PST (5:00 p.m. HT) both nights at the Walter Pyramid.

The 10th-ranked Warriors (3-6, 2-4 MPSF) are coming off a series sweep of then-No. 2 Cal State Northridge two weeks ago in Honolulu, which snapped a six-match losing streak.

The Beach (5-5, 4-3) split a pair of matches last weekend. LBSU dropped a straight-set 30-24, 32-30, 33-31 decision to Cal State Northridge but rebounded with a 30-28, 30-20, 36-34 win over UC Santa Barbara.

UH and LBSU have met 64 previous times with the Warriors holding a slight 33-31 edge. The 49ers swept the season series last year at the Stan Sheriff Center, one year after UH took two matches in Long Beach.

What: No. 10 Hawai'i (3-6, 2-4 MPSF) vs. No. 7 Long Beach State (5-5, 4-3 MPSF)

When: Thursday, Feb. 12 and Friday, Feb. 13

Time: 7:00 p.m. PST (5:00 p.m. HT) each night

Where: Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, Calif.

Television Coverage: None

Radio: None

Live Stats: Live stats of both matches are available on longbeachstate.com

Series History: UH leads 33-31. LBSU swept the season series last year in Honolulu avenging a series sweep by UH in Long Beach in 2007.

 

UH needs one more win to reach No. 500 in its 31st season of intercollegiate play. Hawai'i has compiled a 496-271 (.647) all-time record since 1979.

The Warriors are celebrating their 50th season of men's volleyball in 2009. The inaugural 1958-59 Rainbows participated as a club team and featured six players and head coach Jerry Bruhn. The men's volleyball program officially began as an intercollegiate sport in 1979 with current UH women's volleyball coach Dave Shoji heading both the men's and women's programs. The men's program has compiled a 499-271 record in 30 varsity seasons and has participated in postseason play 21 times. UH advanced to the NCAA Championship in 1995, '96 and 2002, the latter of which the Warriors captured the national title before it was later vacated. Head coach Mike Wilton has been at the helm of the program for the past 16 seasons. He is the program's all-time winningest coach and two-time national coach of the year. He has guided UH to five Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Pacific Division titles, six Top 5 national finishes, and coached 14 All-Americans, including national players of the year Yuval Katz and Costas Theocharidis.

Sophomore Brennon Dyer has helped to solidify the outside hitter position with his play in UH's series sweep of then-No. 2 Cal State Northridge. Dyer started both matches and tallied 32 kills (3.56 kps), 19 digs (2.11 dps), and 11 blocks (1.22 bps). He had a team-high 18 kills in the team's five-set win and 14 kills in the rematch. On the year, Dyer is averaging 2.80 kills, 1.55 digs, and 0.80 blocks per set.

Sophomore outside hitter Joshua Walker regained his starting spot against Cal State Northridge two weeks ago. The Virginia Beach, Va., native averaged a team-best 3.67 kills per set in the series but, more importantly, had a 94 percent reception percentage. He also averaged 1.78 digs and 1.33 blocks per set against the Matadors. In UH's four-set victory, Walker pounded a team-high 19 kills and tallied 14 kills, seven digs, and eight blocks in the five-set win. Walker is currently the team-leader with a 3.85 kill average.

Statistically, the Warriors' most consistent player this season is freshman Steven Hunt. The Toronto, Ontario native is averaging 3.72 kills, 1.41 digs, and 0.41 blocks per set this season. Hunt has double figure kill totals in six of the nine matches and is passing at 96 percent. He had a career-high 24 kills in a four-set loss to Pepperdine.

In addition to Steven Hunt, fellow true freshman Gus Tuaniga has been a spark for the Warriors in just his first season. One of the team's primary passers, Tuaniga is averaging 1.75 digs per set. During the team's two-match series with BYU, Tuaniga averaged 3.00 kills and hit .444. On night two, he blasted 10 kills with no errors in 20 swings. Tuaniga did not play in the Cal State Northridge series while he attended to personal matters.

Despite a 3-6 record, Hawai'i is ranked in both the AVCA Top 15 and Volleyball Magazine Top 10 polls in due part to its strength of schedule. All nine of the Warriors' opponents were ranked in the Top 10 at the time of the match, including top-ranked Penn State, then-No. 2 Cal State Northridge and then-No. 3 Pepperdine. This week's opponent, Long Beach State, is ranked No. 7 while the Warriors are No. 10 in the AVCA Coaches poll, which is a season-best ranking.

After substituting as an outside hitter for parts of last season, Sean Carney returned to his natural position - setter - for the start of this season. Carney appeared in four matches as a hitter last season, including the regular season series finale at Pepperdine. The senior has started the team's first nine matches at setter this season and is averaging 11.24 assists per set and leads the team in digs with 92 (2.71). He also ranks second on the team in blocks with 31 (0.91).

Hawai'i holds a 216-109 (.665) all-time record in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation since the 1993 season, all under head coach Mike Wilton. UH posted one perfect season of 19-0 during the 1996 campaign and made 14-straight MPSF playoffs, until ending that streak last season when the Warriors finished below .500 in conference play for the first time under Wilton.

The Warriors were picked 13th in the preseason Bison/AVCA Division I-II poll and ninth in the preseason Mountain Pacific Sports Federation poll. Defending NCAA champion Penn State heads the Top 15 national poll with 14 first place votes and 236 points. UCLA and Pepperdine were tied for the top spot in the MPSF coaches poll with 104 votes.

The Warriors have called the Stan Sheriff Center home since 1994 and it has provided a dominant home court advantage. UH has led the nation in attendance all 14 years and hold a 181-83 (.686) record including an impressive 109-38 (.741) mark in MPSF play.

Former Warrior Clay Stanley, who led the United States men's volleyball team to Olympic gold at the 2008 Games in Beijing, China, was one of four inductees in the UH Sports Circle of Honor. Stanley, a two-time Olympian, was selected as the tournament's Most Valuable Player as well as best scorer and best server. He was inducted in the Class of 2008 along with Olympian Heather Bown, former athletics director Ray Nagel, and multi-sport legend Jack Johnson.