The University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team worked its way closer to the playoffs with a workman-like four-set victory over UC San Diego last night.

The No. 4-ranked Warriors defeated the No. 14 Tritons, 28-30, 30-25, 30-24, 30-28.

A crowd of 2,739 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the Warriors improve to 16-8 overall and 12-7 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. UCSD dropped to 8-16 overall and 4-13 in the MPSF.

The teams will meet again at 7 o'clock tonight. The Warriors can clinch a spot in the MPSF playoffs with a victory tonight.

Jonas Umlauft had 28 kills to lead Hawai'i. Ten of his kills came in the second set, when the Warriors claimed the momentum.

Joshua Walker added 17 kills and Steven Hunt 10 for Hawai'i. The Warriors lost the first set despite hitting for a .400 percentage. They finished with a .331 percentage for the match.

Frank Fritsch had 22 kills for UCSD, which finished with a .272 kill percentage.

The victory avenged two Hawai'i losses at UCSD last season. The Warriors have an all-time record of 40-2 against the Tritons.