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HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team dropped a tough three-set match to No. 1 USC Saturday night in its regular season finale at the Stan Sheriff Center. Set scores for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match were 25-20, 28-26, 25-22.

 

Following the match, Brennon Dyer, Joshua Walker, and Nejc Zemljak were honored during the traditional Senior Night ceremony.

 

The Warriors (15-12, 13-9 MPSF) conclude the regular season and must now await the final week of the conference schedule to find out what seed they will be in the MPSF Tournament which begins in two weeks.

 

All-American opposite Jonas Umlauft led Hawai'i with 15 kills. Walker had eight kills in his final match at the Sheriff Center while Zemljak dished out 25 assists and had six digs. As a team, the Warriors hit .256 while the Trojans hit .312.

 

USC (19-2, 18-2) was led by Tony Ciarelli, who tallied a match-high 17 kills.

 

In the first set, the Trojans grabbed the early advantage by stringing together four straight points for a 14-9 lead. UH closed to within two on six different occasions until three more USC points gave the Trojans a 22-17 lead en route to a 25-20 victory.

 

Much like Friday night, the Warriors found themselves down one set to none and rallied back. Trailing 8-4, UH went on a 10-2 run, which included two aces by Walker and one by Zemljak for a 14-10 lead. But USC had an answer of their own, taking a 17-16 lead and after the Warriors regained the lead, the Trojans tied it at 22.

 

A Ciarelli kill gave USC set point at 24-23 and Austin Zahn's ace dropped in the back line giving the Trojans the 28-26 victory and commanding two sets to none advantage.

 

The Trojans took a 17-12 lead in Set 3 after reeling off four straight points. The Warriors mounted one last comeback. Down 24-18, UH rallied with four straight points before the Trojans closed it out with a kill by Ciarelli.