The University of Hawai'i volleyball team might be without its best middle blocker when it plays top-ranked Pepperdine on Thursday in the Stan Sheriff Center.

Dio Dante injured his left foot when he stepped on a wana while swimming Friday off Waikiki.

"There's a first time for everything," said Dante after his mishap with the spiny sea urchin. "It's really sore. I can't even walk around. It's one of those injuries you can't do anything about."

Dante's left foot was bandaged yesterday. He did not compete in practice. He said his availability is in question for Thursday's match.

"We'll see," he said. "I thought I'd feel much better. But I couldn't walk around school. It happened Friday, and I've been soaking my foot for, like, five hours this weekend. A lot of it got better, but it's still bad. I'm bummed."

Dante, one of four UH seniors, is fourth nationally in blocks, averaging 1.52 per game.

Kyle Klinger is Dante's immediate replacement.

Yesterday, Keali'i Frank, a freshman from Punahou School, practiced with the first team. The other starting middle blocker, Matt "Dragon" Rawson was ill.

But Frank, who is redshirting this season, will not be available to play on Thursday. If Dante and Rawson both are out, then Jake Schkud will move from outside hitter to the middle. Schkud has played several positions during his three-year UH career.

Meanwhile, UH coach Mike Wilton said Matthew Vanzant has secured one of the starting jobs on the left side. Team captain Lauri Hakala will play the other.

Vanzant played well early in the season, breaking into the starting lineup, but then slumped and found himself struggling for a berth on the active roster.

"I'm not sure what happened," Vanzant said.

But he improved his passing, tweaked his arm swing, and eventually worked his way back into the lineup.

"His play was inconsistent but his confidence was never gone," Hakala said. "Sometimes you play bad. Everybody has bad games and good games. But if you keep trying, you still have confidence. He kept trying. Every match he played, even if he didn't put up good hitting numbers, he passed good and he kept swinging hard and high. I'm proud of the kid."

The Warriors have five two-match Mountain Pacific Sports Federation series remaining. If they win eight of their final 10 MPSF matches, they would finish 11-11, good enough for a berth in the eight-team playoffs.

"I think 10 of 10 is do-able," Hakala said.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.