The animated Batista — who celebrates kills with arm-pumping gestures and victory laps — is the latest thorn in the deep-rooted, all-sports rivalry between the schools.

"I know the (UH) fans don't like me," said Batista, who induced jeers and sing-song chants of his name. "But I love these people. I love this crowd. I love when they boo me. I know they are just doing it for fun, because they know I like that. I love having fun."

To be sure, the Cougars' good times were at the expense of the Warriors, who appeared to turn the momentum by seizing Game 2.

But in Game 3, the Warriors had no answer for Batista, who sizzled shots over and off double blocks, and middle blocker Michael Burke, who was selected as the tournament's most outstanding player by virtue of his 12 kills (against one error) and six block assists.

And in the final game, the Cougars' assortment of power, floating and dancing serves resulted in the Warriors' scattered passes.

"Serve-pass went away big time for us in Game 4," UH coach Mike Wilton said, "so maybe we credit some of (the Cougars') serving. They out-steadied us."

UH libero Alfred Reft, who had two receiving errors, often dived to save sinking BYU serves. "I should have been able to read them better," Reft said. "They weren't tough. It was a bad night."

UH's other primary passer, José José Delgado, struggled offensively, and was replaced by outside hitter Lauri Hakala. When the other outside hitter, Matt Bender, had difficulty with his read blocks, Delgado was summoned. When Delgado continued to have problems with his hitting — he finished with one kill and five errors in 10 swings — Bender was recalled.

"We played sloppy, and they got a lead they needed, and we couldn't keep up," said Hakala, who played despite a sprained left ankle that was wrapped with tape and a brace. "We should have passed better in Games 3 and 4. If we did, I'm sure the results would have been different."

Bender has been the offensive complement to opposite hitter Pedro Azenha, who buried a match-high 22 kills. But Bender, who played on the right side until last week, is raw as a left-side blocker.

"He's always been a right-side blocker," Wilton said. Blocking on the left side requires "a different technique, a different footwork. And, plus, the responsibilities are such that left-side guys help a lot inside on the quick (sets to the middle), and then they have to quickly get outside."

When Bender is out of position, the back-row defenders are shielded, and have difficulty picking up the opponent's attack.

"It's block discipline, and we'll work on it a lot this week," Wilton said.

The Cougars, meanwhile, had little difficulty adjusting to each other. They entered with new starters at six of the seven positions. Opposite hitter Casey Patterson and outside hitter Ivan Perez joined the team on the eve of the tournament opener after meeting eligibility requirements.

Patterson, a fifth-year senior who did not play last season, hammered 19 kills and produced 10 digs.

"I didn't have much time to practice, but the guys made me feel real comfortable, and that made it real easy for me," Patterson said.

Perez, who helped stabilize the Cougars' passing, practiced during fall training but did not compete in exhibition matches. He started Wednesday, came off the bench Thursday, and was back in the opening lineup last night.

"The chemistry is amazing," he said. "It's so easy to play with them. They definitely help me out."

THIRD PLACE MATCH

Penn State beats Lewis, 3-2, for its first victory

After traveling five time zones and playing three five-game matches in a row, the Nittany Lions (1-2) won their first match of the season, 34-36, 26-30, 33-31, 30-17, 15-12.

The Nittany Lions, who claimed third place in this round-robin tournament, relied on middle blockers Nate Meerstein and Keith Kowal.

Meerstein hammered a career-high 19 kills and assisted on eight of the Nittany Lions' 19.5 blocks. Kowal had 16 kills and 10 blocks.

Penn State also received a boost from freshman libero Gary Vogel, who had 14 digs.

The Flyers, 0-3 in the season-opening tournament, could not maintain the momentum following the 10-minute intermission between Games 2 and 3.

Outside hitter Jeff Soler had a match-high 25 kills, but only six (in 38 swings) in the final three games. During that span, he committed eight attack errors.