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HONOLULU – The No. 10 University of Hawai`i men's volleyball team defeated No. 14 Ohio State, in four sets, 25-19, 25-22, 17-25, 25-23, on opening night of the 21^st Outrigger Resorts Invitational, Thursday at the Stan Sheriff Center.
 
Despite a rocky third set, UH (2-0, 0-0 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) managed to out-hit OSU (3-1, 2-0 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association), .233 to .183. Outside hitter Sinisa Zarkovic led the 'Bows offensively with a season-high and match-high 20 kills. The Rainbow Warriors outhit the Buckeyes from the start, hitting .476 in Set 1 to OSU's .176. UH committed two attack errors early on, and did not commit another one for the remainder of the first set and nearly halfway through the second.
 
The Buckeyes put up a fight nearing the end of Set 2. When the Warriors hit set point, OSU held on tight with a five-point spurt to close to 24-22, capping a 12-4 run. However, senior outside hitter Brook Sedore (12 kills, five blocks) finally finished off the Buckeyes with a kill, assisted by setter Jennings Franciskovic, who dished out 35 assists.  
 
In Set 3, following a UH service error, the Buckeyes took the lead 9-8 and never looked back, outscoring the 'Bows 17-9 to extend the match to a fourth set.
 
UH rallied back-and-forth with OSU to begin Set 4, but took the lead early on. Following a kill by Sedore, the 'Bows went on a five-point scoring run to take command of the set. OSU cut UH's lead down to just one-point at 24-23 but Zarkovic pounded his 20th kill to end it.
 
In the day's earlier match, No. 8 UC Irvine (1-1, 0-0 MPSF) upset No. 3 Penn State (0-1, 0-0 EIVA) in five sets, 25-17, 25-18, 18-25, 22-25, 15-7 in the Anteaters' Outrigger debut. Outside hitter Tamir Hershko and opposite Zack La Cavera led the 'Eaters with 17 kills each, with middle blocker Josh Agopian recorded a team-high eight blocks. Meanwhile, PSU outside hitter Aaron Russell netted a match-high 19 kills.
 
The Warriors will next face the Nittany Lions at 7:00 p.m. Friday night at the Stan Sheriff Center for day two of the 21^st Outrigger Resorts Invitational. Ohio State will face UC Irvine at 5:00 p.m.