Box Score

WESTWOOD, Calif. – The University of Hawai`i men's volleyball team rallied from two sets down to force a fifth set, but fell short 15-13 and lost the match, 3-2 against No. 9 UCLA on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion.

 

The Warriors used an outstanding performance by freshman Steven Hunt, who was playing in his first match coming back from an injury, and recorded a career-high 28 kills.

 

UH dropped to 6-16 overall and 3-14 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play, while UCLA improved to 11-13 overall and 7-10 in conference action. First serve for Friday's match is set for 7 p.m. PST. The final match of the series can also be heard live on ESPN 1420 am.

 

Hunt hit an impressive .512 over the five sets and added six digs and four blocks. Josh Walker had 10 kills and Nejc Zemljak had 63 assists leading the offense.

 

The Warriors lost the first two sets 27-30, 22-30, before bouncing back with a 30-24 victory. In the third set, UH hit .312 and recorded 17 kills. The fourth set the Warriors kept the momentum going with a 30-25 win. In the final set, UH went back-and-forth with UCLA, with the score tied 12-12 before the Bruins eventually won 15-13.

 

As a team the Warriors hit .257 and had 13.5 blocks, while the Bruins hit .327 and had 17.5 blocks.

 

After playing their final regular season road match of the season on Friday, the Warriors return to the Stan Sheriff Center for four home matches to end the regular season.