Despite the outcome, UH setter Brian Beckwith said, "That was a mental loss for us. It's pretty obvious we lost our focus."

After easily winning the first two games, the Warriors led 25-21 in Game 3.

But following a timeout speech that would be hit on EBay, Stanford scored nine of the next 11 points to force a fourth game.

"It was very uncharacteristic," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "We give credit to them. They never quit. Once they came back and got that game, 'mo' was on their side of the court all of the rest of the way."

The energized Stanford blockers got a handprint on nearly every UH attack. UH opposite hitter Pedro Azenha, nearly unstoppable in the first two games, began to struggle. So, too, did outside hitter José José Delgado.

By the middle of Game 4, the Warriors began sniping at each other.

"I guess we were getting after each other," UH outside hitter Matt Bender said. "We want each other to play the best we can. It's frustrating when we see people on our team we know are so good and not playing to their potential. It's frustrating, but we knew we had to calm down and play as a team."

Brian Beckwith

During timeouts, Wilton implored his players to focus and remember the lectures of the previous talks. "It was time to play," Wilton said.

And then, in the first-to-15 fifth game, the gloom was lifted. It started when Beckwith roofed David Vogel's laser from the left side, then spread through the ever-cheerful Bender.

"Matt Bender can be swimming in a pool of manure and believe he'll find a pony in there," Wilton said of Bender's optimism.

"Optimism is important on the court," Bender said. "Volleyball is such a mental game. It's easy to get down on yourself. You get blocked, it's such a big deal. Everybody makes a big hoopla about it. I try to be optimistic. There's no reason to doubt. It doesn't accomplish anything."

In the fifth game, 6-foot-9 Mauli'a LaBarre's solo block sparked a 5-0 run that transformed a 10-8 UH deficit into a 13-10 lead.

Stanford closed to 13-11 on opposite hitter Ben Reddy's ricochet shot off a double block. But after a UH timeout, Bender parlayed a pipe set to the middle of the back row into a screaming kill, setting up aloha ball at 14-11.

The Cardinal scored the next two points before a double-hit violation ended the match.

"They're a nice team," Wilton said of the Cardinal. "They touched our hitters' (shots). We got very frustrated for the first time (this season). There was some chatting — yapping at each other. We got out of that, and we got it done. One can always say, 'this is good for us.' I don't know how many times I said that tonight. But I'd rather have not had the situation."

The match showed that LaBarre has undergone a complete makeover from his "before" picture as a freshman in 2001. Back then, he carried 160 pounds on a 6-foot-8 frame. He returned from a church mission last year, and this season, as a junior, he is 35 pounds heavier and an inch taller.

Last night, LaBarre had 14 kills in 21 swings and contributed to nine of the Warriors' 13 blocks. In Game 5, nine of the Warriors' points came when LaBarre was on the court. He is replaced when he rotates to the back row.

"I try to play my hardest," LaBarre said. "These guys play well every night. I tell myself to give 100 percent. If everybody else does, we'll win some games."

Bender finished with 17 kills and Azenha had 15 kills. Azenha has three aces in the first two games, but finished with eight service errors.