It was business when setter Alex Jones was cut from the Cal State Northridge volleyball team at the end of the 2014 season.

It was personal when Jones came off the sideline to lead Hawaii to a 23-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-22 victory over CSUN in the Stan Sheriff Center on Sunday.

On Oscar night, Jones put on a dramatic performance, providing leadership, enthusiasm and crushable sets. The Warriors had a plus-22 advantage in scoring when Jones was at the controls. Opposite Brook Sedore smashed a season-high 24 kills, middle Taylor Averill had 17 kills and hit .714, and the Rainbow Warriors finished at .338 accuracy.

"He was playing with heart," UH coach Charlie Wade said. "He set a pretty good match for a decent number. I’m really happy for Alex. There’s a little back story there, a little motivation. He came in there, did really well, and got us another win."

The Warriors improved to 11-3 overall and 8-2 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

In plotting for this season, CSUN coach Jeff Campbell decided to go with a rebuilding model. That meant cutting Jones, who earned his bachelor’s degree but still had a year of eligibility remaining. Jones said Campbell "made a business decision with the roster," adding that he was told the move was "performance based."

But Jones felt he "was good enough to play in this league for one more year."

Wade agreed, and asked Jones and middle blocker Vaughn Wellenreiter, who also was cut by CSUN, to join the Warriors.

Jones, who aspires to be a coach, has given the starters fits in practices while leading the reserves.

"I hate when I’m playing against him, but I love it when he’s on my team," Sedore said of Jones.

Asked about the root of his energetic style, Jones mused, "Some coffee. Other than that, I love playing volleyball. Our backup side, or B side, is very, very strong. We have so many guys come off the bench and do well. I’m so proud of how we’re able to make a good use of practice. Even during the season, everyone was battling for spots. I hoped I would get my chance eventually."

That came in the opening set, when the Matadors stormed to a 16-8 lead. Wade summoned Jones to replace Jennings Franciskovic.

"We were playing flat," Wade said. "I’m like, ‘Who’s going to give us a spark?’ Alex is going to give us a spark."

The Warriors fell behind 19-10 before rallying to tie it at 23. The Warriors lost that set, but won the momentum.

"That’s volleyball," Averill said. "It’s easy to give up when you’re down by that much. I’m proud of the way the guys played."

Siki Zarkovic, who missed the previous five matches because of a high-ankle sprain, entered late in the first set. He delivered 10 kills, six digs and active middle-back defense. Zarkovic pestered Wade into watching him in warm-ups. Satisfied that Zarkovic was healthy, Wade raced to the scorer’s table to add him to the active roster.

Averill was nearly unstoppable, scoring on 16 of his first 17 swings.

"When the passing is like that, it makes it so much easier," Averill said. "Hat’s off to Alex Jones. He was awesome."

LIbero Kolby Kanetake had 14 digs and received 20 serves without an error.

And Sedore continued to feast on right-sided sets at the pin and behind the 3-meter line. After one play ended, the ball ricocheted and struck Sedore’s private area.

"The ball hit off Siki’s knee and hit me in the manhood," said Sedore, who was asked to float serve after that. "I was like, ‘I’m not going to float-serve it. I’m going to rip it. Pain is pain. I can play through that."

Fittingly, it was Jones who served the aloha point.

"You can’t write a better story than playing against my old teammate and trying to get the win," Jones said.

MPSF VOLLEYBALL

Sunday
Hawaii def. CSUN 23-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-22
UCLA def. USC 25-15, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22
Wednesday
Holy Names at UCSD
Thursday
Holy Names at Cal Baptist
Friday
Pepperdine at Stanford
UC Merced at Cal Baptist
Ball State at BYU
UCSB at UCSD
UCLA at UC Irvine
Hawaii at Long Beach State, 5 p.m.

NO. 7 HAWAII DEF. NO. 14 CSUN 23-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-22

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). Service Aces — CSUN none. Hawaii 5 (Fey 2, Sedore, Averill, Holt). Service errors — CSUN 11 (Byers 3, Ciesla 2, Stevenson 2, Holt 2, Alegrado, O’Gorman). Hawaii 14 (Zarkovic 5, Sedore 3, Holt 3, Franciskovic, Averill, Mol). Assists — CSUN 44 (Magorlen 39, Sakaida 2, Ciesla, Holt, Suarez). Hawaii 63 (Jones 42, Franciskovic 7, Sedore 3, Kanetake 3, Zarkovic 2, Fey 2, Holt 2, Averill, Mol). T — 2:15. A — 2,956. Referees — Joe Sloate, Dickson Chun.