Match Notes

The 11th-ranked University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team takes to the road for a pair of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matches against No. 15 UC San Diego, Friday, Jan. 28 and Saturday, Jan. 29 at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla, Calif. First serve for both matches is 7:00 p.m. PT (5:00 p.m. HT).

 

The Warriors (1-4, 1-1 MPSF) are coming off a two-match split with No. 2 Stanford last weekend at the Stan Sheriff Center. UH snapped a seven-match losing streak to the Cardinal with a straight-set win on Friday and nearly pulled off the sweep before falling 17-15 in the fifth on Sunday.

 

UH was led by All-American opposite Jonas Umlauft, who averaged 6.38 kills per set, tops among all MPSF players for the week. He had 22 kills and was nearly unstoppable, hitting .500 on Friday and tied for match-high honors with 29 kills on Sunday. He helped the Warriors capture their first win of 2011 after going winless during the season-opening Outrigger Hotels Invitational.

 

The Tritons (2-5, 1-2) had a rough week - losing in straight sets at home to top-ranked USC and in four at Cal Baptist - which extended their losing streak to three matches. On the year, UCSD features a balanced offensive attack with kill leader Shane Veiga averaging a mere 3.05 kills per set but at a .143 clip. As a team, the Tritons are hitting .215 compared to .309 for their opponents.

 

UCSD's lone conference win was a four-set win at No. 7 UC Irvine but have since lost three straight.

The Tritons host Princeton on Wednesday prior to the UH series.

 

UH and UCSD have met 43 times with the Warriors dominating the series 41-2. However, the Tritons swept the two-match series the last time it was held in La Jolla, Calif., in 2009 for their only two wins of the series. In those meetings, UH outside hitter Joshua Walker had 17 kills in a four-set loss in the opener and just three kills in UCSD's five-set win in the rematch. Nejc Zemljak was the starting setter in both matches, averaging 9.89 assists and 2.22 digs per set.

 

Who: No. 13 Hawai'i (1-4, 1-1 MPSF) vs. No. 15 UC San Diego (2-5, 1-2 MPSF)

When: Friday, January 28 and Saturday, January 29

Time: 7:00 p.m. both nights

Where: RIMAC Arena; La Jolla, Calif.

Radio Coverage: ESPN 1420AM is broadcasting all UH matches live with Blaine Kauwe calling the action.

Streaming Video: Live video streaming for Friday's match only on UCSDTritons.com

Audio Webcast: Live audio streaming on espn1420am.com

Live Stats: Live stats available on UCSDTritons.com