Walker soars as Warriors stop Tritons

Feel the force?

It seemed that way for Joshua "Sky" Walker last night.

The freshman outside hitter for the Hawaii men's volleyball was even more impressive in his second start than he was in Wednesday's win over UC San Diego. Walker finished with a career-high 24 kills and added four aces as the 13th-ranked Warriors wore down the No. 15 Tritons 30-25, 30-24, 30-28, 27-30, 15-7 in 2 hours and 44 minutes at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Also feeling it in front of a turnstile crowd of 1,452 (2,652 tickets) was senior hitter Jake Schkud, who added 19 kills and was in on seven of Hawaii's 18.5 blocks. The Warriors improved to 3-4 overall, 2-2 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, running their record against the Tritons to 39-0.

It was just the third time UCSD (2-5, 1-5) went five with Hawaii and the first time in Honolulu. But whatever magic the Tritons had when tying the match with wins in Games 3 and 4 quickly disappeared in Game 5.

Schkud served eight straight as the Warriors roared out to a 10-1 lead. Sparking Hawaii's run was junior hitter Jim Clar, who didn't play until the final game, but came up with five block assists.

"We've put in so much hard work and we almost beat ourselves tonight," Schkud said. "We got some very big plays from Jimbo Clar and it feels really good that we're back to .500.

"We did let our guard down and you can't do that. San Diego is a good team. We gave them some hope and they put up a good fight. I'm thankful to our fans who cheered us on and helped push us through."

Schkud said his focus during his serving run was to keep it in. Hawaii had 21 serving errors and the Warriors didn't need more during the deciding game.

"I wasn't serving hard, just placing it," Schkud said. "We needed to keep that momentum with us."

Frank Fritsch had 25 kills to lead UCSD.

The momentum came out of the locker room after Game 2 with the Tritons, who switched setters, trading sophomore Billy Arnold for freshman Phil Bannan. Arnold began connecting with Jason Spangler, who had a combined 15 kills in Games 3 and 4, and finished with 21.

The Warriors next head to UC Santa Barbara (1-6, 0-4) for matches next Friday and Saturday.

Note

Former Punahou coach and KFVE sportscaster Chris McLachlin was released from Stanford Medical Center. McLachlin suffered a stroke Saturday and a seizure earlier this week.