The University of Hawaii volleyball team went from the abyss to bliss with an astonishing 26-28, 23-25, 25-23, 25-17, 20-18 upset of second-ranked USC.

A crowd of the more than 2,000 watched the under-manned Warriors surge from a two-set deficit to fight off match point twice in the fifth set and hand the Trojans their first loss of the season.

"The guys hung in there," UH coach Charlie Wade said. "They knew it was going to be a tough match."

The Warriors were without one of their best defenders, outside hitter Siki Zarkovic, whose sprained left ankle was in a walking boot on Wednesday night. Middle blocker Davis Holt, their tallest player, did not start despite being medically cleared to play after recovering from a sprained ankle.

"They knew it was going to be ‘the next man up,’" Wade said. "And they worked together against a great team and great coaches. We got our fourth league win, and that was significant."

The Warriors rallied behind All-America middle Taylor Averill, who had 17 kills against one error and rejected USC’s Robert Feathers at aloha ball.

They also received a boost from opposite attacker Brook Sedore, who pounded a career-high 22 kills and hit .390.

"We had a couple of injuries, and Jennings (Francisckovich) said he would set me more," said Sedore, who took an arm-numbing 41 swings. "He told me to be ready to go."

Kupono Fey, UH’s second outside hitter and fourth offensive option, contributed 10 kills. He also passed 24 serves without an error.

The Trojans seized control in the first two sets thanks to Micah Christenson, regarded as the country’s best setter.

Christenson, who complements his game with a sizzling serve, was able to spread the offense. Outside hitter Christopher Orenic had 24 kills and opposite Josh Kirchner, a converted middle, pounded 19. The Trojans were so effective that left-side hitter Alex Slaught was pulled as a starter despite hitting .300.

Wade acknowledged the Warriors were not at their best defensively early. They entered averaging about nine digs per set. In the first two sets, they had nine digs, including one in the opening set.

In the locker room during the intermission between the second and third sets, Sedore reminded his teammates that there was an aggregate four-point difference.

"We were calm," Sedore said. "We weren’t upset at all."

Holt entered in the third set, providing an imposing block. He had three blocks in the third set.

"Once we were able to get our defense going a little bit, things changed," Wade said. "We really take it personally to defend our home court."

In the fifth set, the Trojans were serving for match point at 16-15 and 17-16.

But Punahou graduate Larry Tuileta’s serve struck the net, tying it at 17.

Sedore’s spike off a D set struck the net and fell to the court to make it 18-17.

After Orenic tied it at 18, Averill’s 17th kill gave UH match point.

Christenson back-set Feathers in transition. Averill, recalling the tactic from scouting reports, smothered Feather’s swing, triggering a wild celebration.

"I have to give that last play to the coaching staff," Averill said. "I was following what we were told to do. That was a great team with a great setter. They played really well. We matched it tonight."

Wednesday

Hawaii def. USC, 26-28, 23-25, 25-23, 25-17, 20-18

CSUN def. UC Santa Barbara, 25-16, 23-25, 25-17, 25-23

Long Beach State def. UCLA, 17-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-23

Friday

USC at Hawaii, 7 p.m., Stan Sheriff Center

Stanford at Pepperdine

UCLA at CSUN

UC Santa Barbara at Long Beach State

Cal Baptist at BYU

Saturday

UC Irvine at UC San Diego

Cal Baptist at BYU

Stanford at Concordia

No. 6 Hawaii def. No. 2 USC 26-28, 23-25, 25-23, 25-17, 20-18

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 — USC 4 (Christenson 2, Feathers, Kirchner). Hawaii 8 (Sedore 2, Franciskovic 2, Averill, Fey, Hartley, Mol). Service errors — USC 23 (Kirchner 6, Feathers 5, Christenson 5, Orenic 3, Slaught 2, Benesh, Tuileta). Hawaii 20 (Sedore 4, Averill 4, Franciskovic 4, Fey 3, Radner 2, Hartley, Mol, Leung). Assists — USC 64 (Christenson 63, Tuileta). Hawaii 60 (Franciskovic 52, Fey 3, Kanetake 3, Sedore, Mol). T — 2:48. A — Not reported. Referees — Bill Forrester, Dickson Chun.