Hawaii made all of the right moves in a pulsating five-set volleyball victory over second-ranked Pepperdine in the Stan Sheriff Center on Friday night.

"We were fired up," UH outside hitter Siki Zarkovic said of the Warriors’ first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation victory of the season.

To be sure, it was a difficult challenge for the Warriors, who faced a team with the nation’s top offense and one of the most imposing blocks.

The Warriors countered with a lineup that emphasized the serve-and-passing phase for a 19-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-21, 15-11 victory.

Brook Sedore, the Warriors’ best serving specialist, started at opposite. UH coach Charlie Wade said he wanted to start Sedore to allow him to serve more than once in each set.

The move also enabled JP Marks to move from opposite to the left side, where he could utilize his passing skills.

Sedore, a sophomore from Canada, hammered a team-high 17 kills (against four errors) and hit .419. He also sizzled four aces.

Marks struggled in the fourth set, in which he was pulled for Jace Olsen, but appeared to be recharged when recalled for the fifth set.

In analyzing the breakdowns, Wade noticed that rotation six — when Marks is the server — produced the most points. Wade also noted that "we did well in sideout percentage when JP was in the back row."

The Warriors opened the fifth set with Marks behind the service line. That rotation meant Sedore would be third, giving him probably an extra serve in the shortened set. Wade also could use a serving specialist for middle blocker Davis Holt.

"At that point, we were here for 21⁄2 hours," Wade said. "We had to go with the numbers."

As it turned out, the intangibles would be a factor.

Zarkovic is poker-faced during each play.

"We heard some people calling him ‘stone-cold killer,’ " Wade said. "He’s really good in the moment."

The moment came after a long rally ended with UH middle Taylor Averill’s kill, tying it at 11.

It was then that Zarkovic went behind the service line.

"I definitely wanted the ball," Zarkovic said. "I said, ‘Give me the ball, I’ll give you the point.’ I was fired up."

The Warriors took a 12-11 lead when Pepperdine outside hitter Scott Rhein’s spike struck the antenna.

It was 13-11 when the Waves’ best attacker, opposite Maurice Torres, hit wide on a crossing shot.

Then Zarkovic lasered a serve that ricocheted off libero Ryan Plueger.

On the next play, Rhein hit an angle shot that was touched. But Zarkovic made a lunging save. Averill put down the set for aloha ball.

"It was my best play of the game," Zarkovic said of the dig. "I didn’t think I would get to the ball."

Wade said: "Siki had it a little rough in the first (set), but he really embraced it when it counted."

Pepperdine coach Marv Dunphy acknowledged: "They made the plays in the end."