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HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team rallied for a 18-25, 25-22, 25-22, 27-25 victory over UC Santa Barbara, Thursday night, in the first of two Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matches at the Stan Sheriff Center.

 

The 10th-ranked Warriors (3-5, 3-2 MPSF) overcame a hot-hitting performance by the Gauchos, who finished with .364 team hitting percentage with four players in double figures. On the flip side, UH hit .351 as a team with Joshua Walker (18) and Jonas Umlauft (16) combining for 34 of the team's 51 kills.

 

Hawai'i got off to fast starts in the first three sets but the Gauchos (5-5, 3-4) rallied each time. UH opened Set 1 with a 6-1 advantage and held onto the lead until the Gauchos scored six unanswered for an 18-15 lead. Moments later, UCSB scored four straight for a 23-17 lead and cruised to a first set victory.

 

In Set 2, UH led 10-5 and 13-6 before the Gauchos rallied. UCSB tied it at 17 with a 7-2 run before the Warriors answered to regain the lead at 22-19 with a kill by Walker and Gaucho hitting error. Down the stretch, UCSB committed two costly service errors including at set point.

 

Hawai'i opened Set 3 with another great start at 7-3 and extended its lead to 15-9 at the media timeout. UCSB again erased the deficit, closing to within 18-16. But the Warriors closed the door on the Gauchos with consecutive points for a 22-18 lead and sided-out until Walker ended it with his 14^th kill.

 

The Gauchos led 11-7 to start Set 4 and held a 15-11 lead at the media timeout. UH inched back to within 16-15 and scored five straight to grab a 22-20 lead. UCSB staved off four match points before Nejc Zemljak ended it with his second ace.

 

Cullen Irons led UCSB with 19 kills while Jeff Menzel added 15 kills. The Gauchos hit .517 in the first set and .467 in the second set before cooling off in the final two sets.

 

The teams play again on Friday at 7:00 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.