Box Score

HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team hung tough but couldn't overcome top-ranked UCLA in a straight set defeat Friday in the first of two Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matches at the Stan Sheriff Center. Set scores were 25-21, 25-20, and 25-21.
 
Much like in the teams' earlier meeting in the Outrigger Hotels Invitational last month – a UCLA straight set victory – the Warriors (6-8, 3-6 MPSF) threatened in all three sets but the Bruins prevailed each time.
 
Senior outside hitter Steven Hunt led UH with 16 kills on .382 hitting.  Freshman outside hitter Taylor Averill added eight kills while middle blocker Jarrod Lofy had five blocks.
 
UCLA (13-2, 8-1), which won for the 11^th consecutive time, was led by Gonzalo Quiroga's match-high 16 kills. Quiroga did not commit an error in 21 attempts for a .762 hitting percentage. Jeremy Casebeer added 10 kills. As a team, the Bruins hit .408 compared to .298 for UH.
 
In Set 1, the Warriors led 15-14 at the media timeout and tied it at 20 until UCLA scored three straight points on kills by Weston Dunlap, Casebeer, and Quiroga for a 23-20 lead. The Bruins ended it with an ace by Kyle Caldwell.
 
The Bruins took a 12-9 early in Set 2 and that was all the cushion the Bruins needed. UH got as close as 18-16 but UCLA sided-out the rest of the way for the 25-20 victory.
 
The teams traded three-point swings two consecutive times in Set 3 until 13-13. The Bruins scored four of the next five points for a three-point advantage and the Warriors could not get any closer the rest of the way.
 
The teams play again Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.