Hawaii left last week, fresh off a sweep of No. 1 USC.

The Warriors returned today, refreshed after a sweep at Pacific.

Led by freshman opposite Jonas Umlauft's 15 kills, No. 9 Hawaii defeated Pacific for the second consecutive night, 30-21, 30-25, 30-22, The Warriors improved to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men's volleyball.

The victory lifted Hawaii into fifth place in the 12-team league with six teams behind the Warriors, all at 1-2. Among that group is UC San Diego, which upset host Pepperdine 3-1, the first time the Tritons had ever beaten the Waves.

“;It's the wild west out there,”; Hawaii coach Charlie Wade said of the MPSF. “;We're 2-2 ... we got chance.”;

There's much volleyball left to be played, and Wade is pleased at how his team is evolving three weeks in. The Warriors have a week to prepare for next Friday's match with defending NCAA champion UC Irvine; the Anteaters also are 1-2 in the MPSF following a 3-1 loss at CSU Northridge last night.

“;I think we're a better team than when we left,”; Wade said after the 97-minute victory. “;It will be nice to get back home, get back in school and get some quality practice time.

“;And it will be nice to be back playing at home. It was such a fun weekend with the Outrigger (Hotels Invitational, Jan. 7-9) and then we had to leave.”;

The Warriors come back with the knowledge that they have depth. Last night, junior middle Brennon Dyer got the start in place of senior Steven Grgas and sophomore Steven Hunt replaced sophomore Gus Tuaniga as one of the starting outside hitters.

“;I liked the matchups we got with the two of them (Tuesday),”; Wade said.

Hunt finished with 10 kills and four aces in his first start. Dyer also had an ace before leaving early in Set 2 with a sprained ankle.

Junior hitter Joshua Walker added 11 kills and four blocks for the Warriors. Sophomore setter Nejc Zemljak had a match-high 11 digs to go along with 38 assists.

For the Tigers (4-4, 0-4), Jason Borchin put down 12 kills and Florian Gornik added 10, well off his 23 of the previous night.

Hawaii pulled away early in Set 1, taking control at 12-8 behind Walker's serving. Dyer's 4-0 run from the service line gave the Warriors a 16-9 lead.

Two consecutive aces by Hunt helped push the margin to 22-11. At 24-14, Pacific made things interesting, getting two straight aces by reserve senior setter Kevin Downing (Kauai '05) to close to 24-17. The Tigers never got closer than seven, with the Warriors closing it out on Umlauft's eighth kill.

Set 2 was very close, with seven lead changes and 22 ties, the last at 25-25. Grgas put down his first kill to put the Warriors ahead for good at 26-25.

Three hitting errors and one from the service line by the Tigers accounted for Hawaii's final four points, giving the Warriors a 2-0 lead.

Hawaii finished the sweep — its third of the season — when pulling away in Set 3. Hunt had two aces during a 7-0 spurt that gave the Warriors a commanding 21-11 lead.

HAWAII DEF. PACIFIC, 30-21, 30-26, 30-22

Key — s: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct: hitting percentage; d: digs; bs: block solo; ba: block assists; pts: points (kills plus blocks plus aces)
Aces — Hawaii (6): Hunt 4, Umlauft, Dyer. Pacific (4): Downing 2, Borchin, Schenk. Service Errors — Hawaii (11): Zemljak 3, Walker 2, Umlauft 2, Dyer 2, Rawson, Grgas. Pacific (15): Gornik 5, Daley 3, Borchin 2, Downing 2, Schenk 2, Hughes. Assists — Hawaii (44): Zemljak 38, Walker 2, Cervantes 2, Hunt, Grgas. Pacific (36): Downing 28, Tunnell 4, Borchin, Vukicevic, Gornik, Downing. T — 1:37. Officials — John Kinyon, Gary Wakai. A — 217.

Yesterday
Hawaii def. Pacific, 20-21, 30-26, 30-22
UCLA def. UC Santa Barbara, 30-19, 23-30, 24-30, 30-25, 15-11
USC def. Long Beach State, 30-28, 31-29, 30-23
CSU Northridge def. UC Irvine, 31-29, 27-30, 30-27, 30-28
UC San Diego def. Pepperdine, 33-31, 30-28, 23-30, 30-25