Another strong effort was wasted as Hawaii fell to Long Beach State 25-19, 25-22, 25-21 on Friday night in the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Warriors have lost 12 of their past 13, dropping to 7-17 overall and 4-15 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, but still have not been mathematically eliminated from a playoff berth with three matches remaining in the regular season.

UH coach Charlie Wade rolled his eyes when the improbable equation was mentioned, saying, "We just have to get to 25 before the other team does."

That has been the theme this season, with the Warriors racing to the late teens before stalling.

"We get to 20 a lot," Wade said. "It’s hauntingly familiar. We keep the scorekeeper busy. Unfortunately (late in each set), it’s two (points) for them and one for us, and we fall short."

In the second set, it was 17-all when the 49ers scored four in a row.

In the third set, the Warriors rallied from an 11-3 deficit to close to 18-17.

"You can’t fault this group for lack of effort," Wade said.

Wade then pointed to senior outside hitter Steven Hunt. "This guy has been battling every night," he said.

Hunt, who transformed from a primary passer to a go-to hitter, amassed a match-high 18 kills while going against double and triple blocks.

Harrison Carroll, a 6-foot-1 opposite attacker, provided a right-side punch, delivering a third of his 12 kills from the back row.

But the Warriors struggled the entire night to find a third outside threat. J.P. Marks started on the left side, but by the end of the third set he struggled with the flu-like symptoms that persisted the previous two days. Marks’ replacements, Brook Sedore and Scott Hartley, combined for one kill in the final two sets.

The 49ers, meanwhile, received a boost from a former reserve. Srdjan Nadazdin, who played mostly on the left side this year, was summoned into the starting lineup last week when opposite Jim Baughman suffered an ankle injury. Nadazdin pounded 18 kills in a five-set upset of Brigham Young.

He started again Friday night, and slammed a team-high 11 kills.

"When I earned that start against BYU, and we got a really good win against a good team, I felt comfortable coming in here," Nadazdin said. "I was given an opportunity, and I’m enjoying it. It’s my last year, I’m trying to play for teammates. We’re trying to push as hard as we can and go as far as we can."

Interim head coach Andy Read said he searched all season to find a way to play Nadazdin.

"I’m the happiest coach in the world," Read said. "He worked as hard as anybody I’ve ever seen. He’s making the most of his time right now. Hard work should pay off. He gives you everything he has every time."

Nadazdin helped expand the 49ers’ offense. In the first set, the 49ers tried to feed the middle on transition plays. In the third set, they went three-dimensional, with six kills rocketed from behind the 3-meter line.

"When we’re in system and passing well, we have a lot of options," 49er setter Connor Olbright said. "We like to spread it around."

Read said: "We think our middles and back-row hitters really complement each other. That’s good for us."

The Warriors hope to find their own answers in tonight’s final home match of the season.

"We’re pushing a lot of buttons," Wade said.

MPSF STANDINGS

x-clinched MPSF tournament quarterfinal berth

Friday
BYU def. CSU Northridge 23-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-18
UC San Diego def. UCLA 25-20, 25-21, 21-25, 25-21
Stanford def. Pepperdine 25-17, 22-25, 25-23, 20-25, 15-12

Today
Long Beach State at Hawaii, 7 p.m., Stan Sheriff Center
UCLA at UC Irvine
Stanford at USC
UC Santa Barbara at UC San Diego
Pacific at Pepperdine

NO. 9 LONG BEACH STATE DEF. NO. 14 HAWAII 25-19, 22-25, 25-21

49ERS (12-12, 7-10 MPSF)

WARRIORS (7-17, 4-15 MPSF)

Key — s: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct: hitting percentage; d: digs; bs: block solo; ba: block assists; pts: points (kills plus blocks plus aces). Service Aces — Long Beach State 4 (Crabb, Hemmerling, Olbright, Nadazdin). Hawaii 3 (Sedore 2, Marks). Service errors — Long Beach State 8 (Meehan 2, Olbright 2, Hemmerling 2, Ornee, Nadazdin). Hawaii 7 (Biscaro 3, Hunt, West, Carroll, Sedore). Assists — Long Beach State 39 (Olbright 34, McElderry 2, Ornee 2, Hemmerling). Hawaii 39 (Biscaro 34, West 2, Lofy, Carroll, Castello.) T — 1:44. Officials — Ernie Ho, Dickson Chun. A — 1,627.