The men’s volleyball team had the tough assignment of traveling to Honolulu last weekend for a two-game series against the Warriors of the University of Hawaii.

Playing in front of a hostile crowd of 4,759, the Tritons fell to the third-ranked Warriors in straight sets, 30-23, 30-20 and 30-18. It was a tough match for UCSD because Hawaii’s Kimo Tuyay had 22 assists and Jose Delgado led all players with 11 kills.

In the first set, hitting percentage told the story, since the Tritons hit .024 while University of Hawaii finished the game with a .286 percentage and a 1-0 lead on the Tritons.

The next set was similar, with UCSD managing only 10 kills relative to 15 errors, finishing with a -.114 attack percentage in the second set. UCSD head coach Ron Larsen earned a yellow card during the game while the Tritons slipped behind the Warriors 0-2.

UCSD saved the best set for last, smacking 16 kills and finishing with a .394 percentage in the third set. However, the Warriors were too much, hitting an astounding .704 to close out the match.

The Tritons were led by Jim Waller, who finished with nine kills, and Jordan Hove, who contributed 33 assists to the UCSD effort.

The next day was more of the same for the Tritons when they dropped their second-straight game to the Warriors.

The Warriors began the game by garnering 16 kills in the first set, while UCSD was only able to pick up six. The Tritons committed nine errors en route to the 15-30 loss.

In the second set, the Tritons bounced back for their best set of the trip, playing tough before falling 26-30. The UCSD defense held Hawaii to 12 kills and lowest hitting percentage of the game, yet was unable to take advantage due to the Warrior defense, which held the Tritons to a .206 percentage.

The last game of the set was again close for UCSD, but in the end it was tagged with the 24-30 loss.

The Tritons were led by Eric Perrine, who ended with a match-high 16 kills. The Warriors finished with three players in double-digits for kills, led by Delgado’s 13.

With the two losses, the Warriors improve to 9-2 overall and remain perfect in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation with a 6-0 record. The Tritons drop to 1-9 overall and at 0-8 are still seeking their first MPSF victory of the season.