Spurred by active middles and aggressive serving, Hawaii fought its way to 27-29, 25-23, 26-24, 25-17 men’s volleyball victory over Pacific last night in the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Warriors struggled early in three of the sets, but managed to navigate their way past the Tigers’ imposing block and agile libero Javier Caceres.

By winning their third in a row, the Warriors improved to 9-9 overall – their first time at .500 this season – and 7-6 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

The Tigers fell to 7-13 and 3-11.

The rematch begins at 7:10 tonight.

"We weren’t as crisp as we were last week," UH coach Charlie Wade said, referring to consecutive three-set victories over Pepperdine. "But you’re not going to be that way all of the time, especially in this league. I’m just happy with the way we fought back. (The Tigers) were playing great, and we weren’t, but we fought back in multiple (sets), and we were able to make plays."

In the first set, the Warriors committed three errors in their first six swings, but hit .444 after that to get to set point.

In the third set, they had attack errors on each of their first three swings. And in the fourth set, they committed four errors in their first six swings.

"We struggled, but we were able to overcome that," Wade said.

It began at the net. Middle blockers Shane Welch and Jarrod Lofy combined for one swing in the first set – one fewer than setter Nejc Zemljak’s attack total. But Welch, who played in place of injured Brennon Dyer, finished with seven blocks, including five in the third set. Welch had three kills without an error.

And Lofy, who was not a starter at the beginning of the season, had his best offensive performance. He slammed 10 kills and hit .571.

"It was just a matter of focus," Lofy said. "You have to see the block and hit around it. I felt really good about it. I had a lot of fun. I was really focused. I was able to see the block really well."

But the youthful Tigers – they did not start a senior – countered with a layered defense. Once past the block, there is the matter of Caceres, who was everywhere the Warriors did not want him to be. Only 140 pounds, Caceres had 17 digs and passed 13 serves without an error.

"We’ll be better for the next match," Caceres promised. "We’re going to work harder."

Fueled by their quick transition game, the Tigers looked often to opposite attacker Taylor Hughes, who had 15 kills and was hitting .684 through the latter part of the second set.

But the Warriors, mixing disruptive float and jump serves, were able to force the Tigers into predictable sets. That enabled them to set up double blocks in Hughes’ attack lanes, even when he was hitting D sets out of the back-right.

For the fourth set, the Warriors flip-flopped the rotation, pairing 6-foot-9 Welch with outside hitter Steven Hunt.

The Warriors then went to their go-to hitter, opposite Jonas Umlauft, who slammed 28 kills – 25 of them coming in the final three sets.

"First of all, it helps to be at home," Umlauft said. "When you get down, the fans really help you out."

Umlauft also credited the Warriors’ tough serving, which activated their block and quickened the transition game.

The Warriors scored 41 points on 102 serves; the Tigers’ serves amounted to 24 points.

In the fourth set, Hunt served four points in a row. In UH’s second rotation, it scored 11 points on 15 serves to close the match.

"The key is to have a run at the service line," Umlauft said. "That’s how we win (matches). It starts at the service line."