Practice what is preached. That’s hasn’t been the problem for Hawaii this volleyball season, where the scouting report has been spot-on, the opponent’s tendencies tracked, the blocking schemes set.

For the Rainbow Warriors, it’s been taking what has been practiced in Gym I into the Stan Sheriff Center and implementing the game plan effectively and efficiently.

Sometimes even that isn’t enough. Sometimes a player unexpectedly has gone off against Hawaii, such as UCLA freshman Micah Ma’a (18 kills in a five-set win) or USC’s Lucas Yoder (21 kills in a five-set win).

It’s not as if the Warriors didn’t expect BYU’s Ben Patch to have a big night on Wednesday. But they weren’t expecting the 2013 national freshman of the year — back after his two-year church mission — to be so huge in the Cougars’ sweep, routinely making the out-of-system play … after play … after play … en route to 22 kills and a .700 hitting percentage.

“Early on, Patch was swinging deep, doing what we expected, and we had a chance to get deflections and not give up kills but we didn’t,” Hawaii assistant coach Joshua Walker said. “He got more comfortable, heated up, was going over the block. He made some impressive shots.

“BYU is the best out-of-system hitting team in the league. We forced them out of system and they converted.”

More often than not it was Patch who bailed BYU with some impressive up-and-over-the-block shots and ridiculous sharp angles. It led to BYU running its consecutive-set winning streak to 33 with the Cougars’ 11th straight sweep.

It also led to the Warriors dropping their fourth in a row — seventh out of the past eight — and being swept at home in consecutive matches for the first time since 2013, when they lost three straight in straight sets at the Sheriff Center.

“I thought we were in-system enough, did the things that typically win you the game, like serve-and-pass,” Hawaii coach Charlie Wade said. “We just didn’t have an answer for a guy who hit .700 and bailed them out of every situation.

“I know people watching won’t think we’re getting better, not when looking at the losses, but we are. We have to be more consistent, score at a higher rate and do a better job on the first-ball hideout. We’re not getting good swings in transition and not winning the rallies. You’re not going to get a third or fourth swing against a team like that. If you get a second swing, you have to put it away, because anytime the ball went back over to their side, it went to Patch and he was scoring at a very high rate.”

The Warriors knew the stretch of 10 matches would be tough, facing what currently are the top four teams in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation: Stanford and Long Beach, tied for first, and UCLA and BYU, both a half-game out of first. Hawaii has gone 2-8, which included a five-set loss at struggling USC on the final night of a four-matches-in-five-days road trip.

The top eight teams advance to the MPSF tournament. Hawaii is in eighth with eight matches remaining after today’s rematch with BYU.

Note

Senior libero Kolby Kanetake has moved into fourth place on UH’s career digs list with 712. He is 27 away from tying Allen Allen for third.