It's going to be a battle, and not just for the championship of the Outrigger Hotels Invitational.

Tonight's 7 o'clock contest means much more than that on both sides of the net. More than bragging rights for the next two months until the two meet again the first weekend in March for two conference matches at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.

For No. 1 USC (2-0), this would be the first-place trophy that symbolizes the one the Trojans would like to have at the end of May. The one that just eluded them last year when falling to UC Irvine in five in the NCAA title match.

For 12th-ranked Hawaii (1-1), it would continue the validation that the Warriors are back, not just in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation race talk, but in the national conversation. They proved that despite seeing their late rally fall short in a 26-30, 30-26, 30-23, 28-30, 15-9 loss to No. 5 Penn State.

Joshua Walker led the Warriors for the second straight night, finishing with 22 kills. Jonas Umlauft added 19 and Matt Rawson added 13.

“;Hawaii is solid, solid at every spot,”; USC junior setter Riley McKibbin (Punahou '07) said after yesterday's 3-1 win over No. 10 Ohio State. “;It's going to be very interesting.

“;We need to serve and pass, stay in system. If they can serve tough ... what can I say? It's going to be a battle.”;

The Warriors' battle may be more of a mental one. Last night as 2,348 watched the 2-hour, 54-minute match at the Stan Sheriff Center, Hawaii's didn't have enought late to prevent falling to the Nittany Lions for the fourth straight year.

Will Price put down 23 kills and Joe Sunder 21 for the Nittany Lions. It was the second time Penn State got the better of a Hawaii volleyball team; four weeks ago, the Nittany Lions ousted the Rainbow Wahine in the NCAA semifinal, in four sets.

Penn State (1-1) can secure at least a share of second place with a win over Ohio State in today's 4 p.m. contest. The Buckeyes (0-2) fell to the Trojans 20-30, 30-26, 30-25, 30-14 in yesterday's first match that lasted 2 hours and 13 minutes.

Hawaii rebounded from a lackluster Set 3 with a energized attack in Set 4.

Rawson put down his 11th kill and then added an ace to give Hawaii a 24-22 lead. But the Nittany Lions responded after their timeout, scoring three straight points, including an ace by Price, for a 25-24 lead.

A serving error by Price tied it and Hawaii took advantage. Jonas Umlauft's ace and a kill by Walker forced Penn State to call a timeout, trailing 27-25.

Umlauft's second ace in three serves made it 28-25, but a kill by Max Lipsitz and a hitting error by Walker on a 3-meter attack closed the gap to 28-27.

Steven Hunt's kill gave Hawaii its first set point at 29-27, but his service error added to the drama, giving Penn State life at 29-28.

Walker's 21st kill snuffed that, forcing Set 5.

Helped by a missed antenna violation call, the Nittany Lions jumped out to a 5-2 lead. The Warriors battled back behind Umlauft two kills and an overpass putback by Steven Grgas to pull to 7-6.

A kill by Price gave Penn State an 8-6 cushion at the changeover. Hawaii never got closer than two again.

USC 3, Ohio State 1

Sophomore hitter Tony Ciarelli - the national freshman of the year in 2009 - had an off night in the front row, hitting negative, but there was nothing wrong with his game from the serving line.

Ciarelli had eight of the Trojans' 13 aces, including four in the deciding fourth set of a 20-30, 30-28, 30-25, 30-14 win over the Buckeyes.

USC rested junior hitter Tri Bourne (Academy of the Pacific '07), who is bothered by a herniated disc. But he is expected to play tonight.

“;He's the guy who holds us together,”; junior setter Riley McKibbin (Punahou '07) said. “;He's our best passer, our best defender.”;

The best part of the match for McKibbin was having his younger brother Maddison on the court. Maddison McKibbin (Punahou '09) entered in Set 2 and “;it was great to be playing with my brother,”; Riley said. “;He brings a lot of fire. We are playing at home and playing together. It's exciting.”;

Murphy Troy led the Trojans with 12 kills. Shawn Sangrey had match highs of 19 kills and seven blocks for the Buckeyes and John Klanac added 14 kills.

NO. 5 PENN STATE DEF. NO. 12 HAWAII
30-26, 26-30, 23-30, 30-28, 15-9
NITTANY LIONS (1-1)

WARRIORS (1-1)

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 - Penn State (10): Price 4, Sunder 4, Lipsitz, Wolfe. Hawaii (7): Umlauft 2, Zemljak 2, Grgas, Rawson, Walker. Service Errors - Penn State (18): Goas 3, Lipsitz 3, Sunder 3, Hendries 3, Price 2, Comfort 2, Turco, Wolfe. Hawaii (19): Walker 5, Rawson 4, Umlauft 3, Dyer 3, Zemljak 2, Tuaniga Assists -Penn State (75): Goas 72, Del Valle 2, Sunder. Hawaii (70): Zemljak 60, Cervantes 5, Umlauft 2, Dyer, Hunt, Walker. T - 2:54. Officials - Ernest Ho, Wayne Lee. A - 3,233.