The gap that once seemed as wide as the Pacific Ocean now feels a little more like the Ka'iwi Channel.

Heck, for one night, maybe the Ala Wai Canal.

Led by tournament MVP Josh Walker, No. 12 Hawaii stunned top-ranked USC 30-21, 24-30, 30-28, 30-23 to win its first Outrigger Hotels Invitational volleyball tournament since 2006 last night.

An animated Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 3,033 saw the Warriors improve to 2-1 with one of their biggest wins in recent memory.

“;This was huge for us,”; said Hawaii senior middle Matt Rawson, who put down the kill that ended it after 2 hours and 31 minutes. “;It felt so good to get that last kill in my last Outrigger tournament.”;

“;This feels really great,”; added Walker, who had a match-high 24 kills. “;This is redemption for us. It's our redemption season.”;

Warrior freshman Jonas Umlauft added 14 kills and Gus Tuaniga 11. Murphy Troy led USC with 15.

In yesterday's first match, No. 5 Penn State turned back No. 10 Ohio State 30-16, 30-27, 24-30, 30-25. It was the second consecutive season that the Buckeyes left Oahu 0-3.

The Nittany Lions (2-1), who won this event the previous two years, finished third via the tiebreaker.

A change at setter in Set 1 made for a huge change for the Warriors. With sophomore Sam Morehouse coming in for Nejc Zemljak with Hawaii down 12-11, the Warriors responded with a 10-3 run, four straight points coming with Morehouse serving.

The spurt included the very definition of a high ball: The 6-foot-7 Rawson connected with 6-9 Umlauft for a kill that put the Warriors ahead at 23-16. Two aces by Walker extended Hawaii's margin to 25-16 and the Trojans never got closer than eight, with Morehouse putting down a dump on the Warriors' second set point for the win.

SC answered with a vengeance, jumping on Hawaii early, rolling out to leads of 10-4, 14-6 and 17-9. Despite coach Charlie Wade playing musical chairs with his lineup, the Warriors found a rhythm and momentum, closing to 25-19 and 28-23.

The hole had been too deep. The Trojans put down their second attempt at set point, tying the match on Hunter Current's fifth kill.

But the Warriors had gained some energy with the late run, bringing it out of the locker room with them. Hawaii broke away for good at 6-6, with a kill by Tuaniga sparking a 5-0 run.

With Walker continuing his hot streak, the Warriors pulled away at 16-11. Two kills by Umlauft and his first ace gave Hawaii what seemed to be a comfortable lead at 19-14.

SC isn't ranked No. 1 without a reason. The Trojans slowly chipped away, closing to within 26-25 on two kills by Tony Ciarelli.

Hawaii held. Walker scored the Warriors' final three points, punctuating the victory with his 17th kill.

Hawaii likely didn't know it, but the title hinged on defeating SC in four sets. If the Warriors had won in five, the championship would go to the Trojans on the tiebreaker.

Perhaps they did know, because at 12-12, the Warriors took control. Hawaii scored four straight with Zemljak back at setter for good since Set 3, just slamming an overpass off the face of SC setter Riley McKibbin.

The fatigue from playing three consecutive nights set in with the teams trading points with service errors.

Hawaii finally got on a roll. Walker had two kills to push the lead to 29-22 and, after a service error, Rawson put down the match ender.

Penn State 3, Ohio State 1

The Nittany Lions took care of business for most of the 2 hours and 16 minutes against the Buckeyes, getting a match-high 17 kills from Joe Sunder and 15 kills from Max Lipsitz, who also was in on nine of the team's 16 blocks.