Sometimes that knocking has been a little too soft. Hawaii knows it needs to listen harder when opportunity comes calling.

The Warriors felt that—once again—they let chances to sweep an opponent get away when they faced Brigham Young last Friday in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation volleyball play. Hawaii did prevail, rallying past the Cougars, 30-17, 28-30, 31-33, 30-28, 15-10, the Warriors' third victory in four five-set matches this season.

“;We'd play six (sets) if that's what was needed,”; UH junior setter Nejc Zemljak said yesterday. “;Once again, we had the opportunity to close it in three. If there was one thing to do better (tonight), it would be stay focused and take advantage of the opportunities when they are there.

“;There's not much difference between first and ninth place in the league. Yes, we are two games out of first, but we are also two games out of 10th. Every match is important.”;

Friday's victory was a milestone for Hawaii's seniors, who had not beaten BYU previously. The Cougars' streak dated back to 2006, which was also the last time the Warriors took the two-match series.

Tonight's rescheduled contest is a chance to match that. The tsunami alert Saturday morning that canceled the teams' trip to Maui had one silver lining: It gave the Warriors a chance to rest up and re-energize for yesterday morning's practice.

“;It was nice to have that little break after the 3-hour match Friday and our interesting morning (Saturday),”; Hawaii coach Charlie Wade said, referring to hearing about the canceled match while the team was en route to the airport. “;We were all excited about going, but one way to look at it is it gave us a chance to have a great practice today.

“;It was very effective. The guys were playing in the moment, had great focus. We're ready. And (BYU) will be ready.”;

Focus has been the watchword during this, Wade's first season. He was pleased that the concentration on disciplined blocking materialized in Friday's match, when the Warriors finished with a season-high 18 blocks.

Hawaii had impressive balance on offense, with outside hitters Steven Hunt, Jonas Umlauft and Joshua Walker all putting down 19 kills, and middle Matt Rawson adding 10.

“;We try to get a little better at everything every practice,”; said Zemljak, who had four of the team's six aces. “;We finally had one match where it all clicked. It's something to build on.”;