Anteaters turn back Warriors in four

'D' was the key.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise that defense came into play when the top two teams in digs in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation played last night at the Stan Sheriff Center. Not when the two teams also feature two of the MPSF's top liberos: Brent Asuka of No. 8 UC Irvine and Ric Cervantes for No. 14 Hawaii.

It made for great rallies and a long match -- 2 hours and 33 minutes -- with the Anteaters prevailing 30-28, 25-30, 34-32, 31-29. A turnstile crowd of 1,582 (2,837 tickets) saw UCI (11-11, 7-8 MPSF) down the Warriors (8-10, 5-8) for the fourth straight time.

"It was very disappointing; we just couldn't put the balls down when we needed to," said UH senior opposite Jake Schkud, who had a team-high 18 kills. "We didn't do what we needed to do when we needed to do it. We just need to make the plays. Tonight we didn't.

"We gave it away."

Hawaii nearly forced a Game 5 after being ahead for most of Game 4 and serving for game point at 29-28. But UCI closed it out on a 3-0 run, capped by Jon Steller's 29th kill.

"Jon came through for us big-time," said Asuka (Iolani '05), who had a match-high 28 digs. "Both teams played well and it was a tough match."

The teams meet again at 7 tonight.

Cory Yoder added 20 kills for UCI, finishing with 73 digs and eight aces, seven by Aaron Harrell. Walker had 17 kills for the Warriors.

"I thought there were some pretty exceptional efforts on the part of our guys tonight," UCI coach John Speraw said. "Harrell's aces, Jon's hitting ... and I thought Brent played a phenomenal match. He's playing All-American volleyball this season and it was nice to see him do it in front of his hometown."

Hawaii won the block war with a 15-6.5 advantage, led by Steven Grgas' eight. The Warriors got stellar play from their middles, with Matt Rawson putting down nine kills on 18 swings with no errors and Grgas eight kills on 17 swings with one error.

Hawaii had four blocks in seeming to take control of Game 1 at 15-12. But UCI tied it at 15, the last point coming off an amazing dig from way behind the endline by Azuka that Yoder shot into UH's back corner.

At 16-16, the Anteaters took the lead for good with a 4-0 run, the last three points coming on consecutive aces by Harrell. The Warriors held off two game points in closing to 29-28 but not a third, with Cole Reinholm finishing it with his fourth kill.

Hawaii trailed for most of Game 2, not catching UCI until 21. Schkud's impressive dig saved a rally that the Warriors turned into the go-ahead point when Grgas and Walker stuffed Steller.

Schkud and Rawson teamed for Hawaii's 10th block of the night, giving the Warriors game point at 29-24. Schkud hit an attempt into the antenna but came right back to put down the game point and send the teams to their locker rooms tied.

In a tight Game 3 that saw 12 ties, the Anteaters pulled out to leads of 28-25 and 29-27. The Warriors held off three game points, gaining one of their own at 31-30 when UCI's Jordan DeFarult hit long. The Anteaters finally ended it on Yoder's 19th kill.

Notes

UCLA's 30-28, 23-30, 30-23, 30-21 upset of No. 1 BYU last night created a tie for the lead in the MPSF. The Cougars (12-2) and Long Beach State (12-2) will meet next Thursday and Friday at The Pyramid. ... Making his first appearance at the Sheriff Center since his stroke on Jan. 19 was broadcaster and retired Punahou coach Chris McLachlin.