Match Notes

HONOLULU – The No. 8 University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team closes out the regular season by hosting top-ranked USC in a pair of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matches, Friday, April 8 and Saturday, April 9 at the Stan Sheriff Center. Match time is 7:00 p.m. both nights.

 

The Warriors (14-11, 12-8 MPSF) are fighting for one of the top four spots in the league standings which would guarantee homecourt advantage in the quarterfinals of the MPSF Tournament. The Trojans (18-1, 17-1) have locked up homecourt advantage throughout the tournament, given they win their quarterfinal match.

 

Following Saturday's match, seniors Brennon Dyer, Joshua Walker, and Nejc Zemljak will be honored during the traditional Senior Night ceremony. The trio are fifth-year seniors who have been instrumental in the rise of the program to national title contenders during these past two seasons.

 

UH is coming off a two-match sweep of Cal State Northridge last week in Honolulu. The Warriors have won eight of their last 10 matches and are led by All-American Jonas Umlauft, who averaged a staggering 7.00 kills per set on .506 hitting during the CSUN series. Fellow All-American outside hitter Joshua Walker hit .545 with a 4.86 kill average and only four errors in 55 swings. As a team, UH hit .444 against the Matadors.

 

USC continued to dominate in 2011 with a four-set win at Stanford and straight-set sweep of Pacific, extending its win streak to 12 matches. Since its only loss at Pepperdine on Feb. 11, the Trojans have posted six wins over the top teams in the MPSF - BYU (twice), Stanford (twice), UC Irvine, and Long Beach State. National player of the year candidate Murphy Troy is averaging 4.14 kills per set, while hitting .378. Senior setter Riley McKibbin, a Punahou School alum, is leading the Trojans to a team hitting percentage of .352, tops in the MPSF.

 

Who: No. 1 USC (18-1, 17-1 MPSF) vs. No. 8 Hawai'i (14-11, 12-8 MPSF)

When: Friday, April 8 and Saturday, April 9

Time: 7:00 p.m. HT both nights

Where: Stan Sheriff Center; Honolulu, HI

Television Coverage: KFVE-TV (Ch. 5) will televise both matches live with Jim Leahey (play-by-play) and Ryan Tsuji (color). Rebroadcast of UH match at 10:30 p.m. each night.

Streaming Video: Live video streaming is available on uhstreaming.oceanic.com.

Radio Coverage: Friday's match will be broadcast on ESPN 1500 AM while Saturday's match will air on ESPN 1420 AM. Scott Robbs will handle the play-by-play.

Audio Webcast: Saturday's match available at espn1420am.com

Live Stats: Available at HawaiiAthletics.com

Tickets: Lower-level $11; Upper-level adult $8, Upper-level senior citizen $7; Upper-level student (4-HS) $3. UH-Manoa students receive admission with validated ID.

Series Information: UH leads the overall series 36-30, including a 17-11 advantage in Honolulu. Last season, the Warriors upset the top-ranked Trojans in the championship match of the Outrigger Hotels Invitational in Honolulu before splitting a two-match series in Los Angeles.