Playing at the speed of fast and furious, the University of Hawai'i volleyball team maneuvered its way to a 30-25, 30-19, 28-30, 30-24 victory over UCLA last night in the Stan Sheriff Center.

A crowd of 3,192 saw the Warriors win their eighth in a row and improve to 12-4 overall and 10-3 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

The Bruins fell to 12-10 and 5-8.

Adding injury to insult, the Bruins' floor leader, setter Dennis Gonzalez, was carried off the court after suffering a high-ankle injury in Game 4. He was taken to The Queen's Medical Center for tests.

"I hope it's only a sprain," UCLA coach Al Scates said. "We're just verifying there are no broken bones. In any case, we won't be looking for him to play for a while."

It was the latest setback for Gonzalez, who was used sparingly recently because of a sprained finger on his left hand. "I've been nursing him along, keeping him out for this weekend, because his hand's been swelling up. I haven't had him block a ball in a long time. It's three weeks I kept him out of the front court. I thought he was finally ready tonight."

Through the middle of Game 4, Gonzalez repeatedly parlayed erratic passes into functional sets. He also had five kills on no-look dump shots, 12 digs and 42 assists. What's more, the Bruins scored 11 points on plays initiated by Gonzalez's serves; 12 when anyone else was behind the service line.

Even with Gonzalez, the Bruins had difficulty applying the Rumble Strips to the Warriors' quick offense. The UH passers accurately fed setter Brian Beckwith, who had a wide menu of options.

Outside hitter José José Delgado mixed loud spikes and roll shots from the left side and off leaping takeoffs from the middle of the back row. Lauri Hakala, whose spikes can travel at up to 73 mph, slammed away from various distances on the right side. Each had 18 kills.

Matt Carere, the floor captain, soared for shots off the top of double blocks, finishing with 14 kills.

Scates, who is recognized as the originator of the modern quick offense, watched his invention succeed on the other side of the net.

"I have to hand it to them," Scates said. "They run a very quick offense. They have small, quick outside hitters who can hit a very low set. We had a lot of trouble getting two blockers on them, and we weren't skilled enough to beat them one on one."

The Bruins rotated three blockers at the two middle positions. They also used two liberos.

"Eric Chaghouri has been playing very well, but tonight he had an off night," Scates said. "That's why I bring two liberos."

Beckwith said UH's strategy was "to keep the ball moving quickly and keep the other team guessing. When we do that, it gives me so many weapons. It's hard not to use them all."

Delgado said: "Brian (Beckwith) is amazing. He always puts the ball in the right place at the right time. He makes it so easy to hit."

The Warriors also kept the Bruins out of sync with well-placed serves. The Warriors scored 44 points on their serves compared to the Bruins' 23. Delgado served 18 points, including two aces.

With Gonzalez forced to chase down passes away from the net, the Warriors were able to track UCLA's heavy hitters: Steve Klosterman, Paul George, Damien Scott and Ian Jackson. Each hit under .200; George had two kills and six errors in 13 swings.

What the Warriors didn't block — they had 13, led by Dio Dante's 7 — they kept alive with energetic back-row defense. Libero Alfee Reft and Beckwith each had 12 digs; Hakala and Carere had 11 apiece.

"We played a good defensive match," Hakala said.

The only lapses came early in Game 3 — which followed a 10-minute intermission — and at the end, when the Warriors could not close out a 28-23. UH is the only place in the MPSF where there are automatic timeouts at the 15-point mark during each game and an extended break between Games 2 and 3.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.