Warriors falter against UCLA

Don't tell Hawaii it was just for second place.

The 11th-ranked Warriors didn't buy it. Neither did No. 3 UCLA.

The best either men's volleyball team could finish last night in the 14th Outrigger Hotels Invitational was as the runner-up. No. 4 Penn State had made sure of that earlier yesterday at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Nittany Lions swept Ball State 30-20, 30-17, 30-19 to claim the championship in their 14th appearance.

It may have been an odd scenario -- in 10 previous finales between Hawaii and UCLA the title was always on the line -- the intensity was never in question. Last night, being No. 2 felt pretty darn good.

For the second time in three years, the final match went five. For the second time in three years, it was the Bruins who came away with the win.

Led by Garrett Muagututia's 19 kills and a revolving door lineup where 13 of 15 Bruins played, UCLA defeated Hawaii 24-30, 30-28, 24-30, 30-22, 15-11 in 2 hours and 36 minutes. Wes Dunlap added 13 kills and libero Tony Ker shattered the tournament records for digs (match 27, tournament 50).

A turnstile crowd of 1,701 (3,071 tickets) saw Jim Clar lead the Warriors (1-2) with 17 kills and Jake Schkud add 11.

"They just played a little bit better at the end than we did," said UH setter Sean Carney, who had 37 assists, 19 digs and three of the team's six aces. "I'm very proud of our guys, they never gave up.

"I have to thank UCLA for giving us the match they did. They're making us a better team."

That the young Warriors could push the Bruins to the end surprised Ker.

"We thought it might be a little more relaxed than it was tonight," Ker said. "But it was intense from the start and it turned into a war.

"Once we started getting our serves in (UCLA missed 30) and got our block going, we got a rhythm. Hawaii did surprise me, they have a lot of young guys. They have no where to go but up."

Warrior coach Mike Wilton had the same feeling.

"We're a patchwork quilt and if you had asked me Wednesday if we'd do as well this week, I wouldn't have been able to tell you," Wilton said. "And if you had said we'd go five with UCLA, I would have said, 'Give me five.' "

Along the way, Hawaii may have found a new weapon. Reserve setter Nejc Zemljak debuted at outside hitter, putting down seven kills and helped solidify the Warriors' passing.

The momentum swung over to the Bruins in Game 4, as it was their turn to take large leads. The Warriors couldn't answer, closing to 26-20 but no closer.

Behind Muagututia and Dunlap, UCLA opened an 8-5 lead in Game 5. The Warriors never got closer than two the rest of the game, the last at 13-11. Woodley put down his 11th kill to end it.

Penn State 3, Ball State 0

In 94 minutes, the Nittany Lions (3-0) washed away more than a decade of frustration. Not just because they finally won the title, "but how we did it," PSU coach Mark Pavlik said.

"It took 14 years, but we had a team that finally played with the poise and passion that reflects all that this tournament and the Hawaii fans have done for us. It's nice to finally show them how we can play."

The Lions did it with remarkable consistency, with just one hitting error in each of Games 1 and 2 en route to hitting .542 for the match.

Tournament MVP Matt Anderson had a match-high 17 kills, hitting .519, and Ryan Sweitzer added 11 kills, hitting .667. Only once in their 13 previous appearances had the Lions won more than one match (2-1 in 1997). They had finished 0-3 five times. For Ball State (0-3), Matt McCarthy had eight kills with no errors in nine swings. Marcus Imwalle also had eight kills but hit negative .095.

All-tournament team

Named to the all-tournament team were Garrett Muagututia, Jamie Diefenbach, UCLA; Sean Carney and Jim Clar, Hawaii; Max Holt, Luke Murray and Matt Anderson (MVP), Penn State.