The University of Hawai'i volleyball team went back to the basics to produce a by-the-book 30-26, 30-21, 30-28 victory over Pacific last night in the Stan Sheriff Center.

In winning for the first time in three Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matches this year, the Warriors relied on the old reliables: well-placed serves, accurate passes and an active defense behind a sturdy block.

"It was a nice step forward for us," UH coach Mike Wilton said.

On a night when team captain Lauri Hakala was not at his offensive best, the Warriors received a boost from opposite attacker Jim Clar, left-side hitter Matt Vanzant and middle blocker Matt "Dragon" Rawson. Clar is a third-year sophomore; Vanzant and Rawson are second-year freshmen.

Rawson crushed nine kills, participated in eight of the Warriors' 12.5 blocks and made two floor-burn-inducing digs. Rawson, who is 6 feet 8, extended his body to make a sprawling pancake save in Game 3.

"Last year I was in Pancake Academy half of the year," said Rawson, referring to assistant coach Jason Salmeri's after-practice pancake drills for the defensively challenged. "I worked my way out of it. I can get any of those now."

"When he got off the floor," Wilton recalled, "he made a point of saying, 'I'm not in Pancake Academy anymore.' "

Associate head coach Tino Reyes said: "That was the first time I saw him make a pancake save. I think he can work at IHOP now."

Hakala is adjusting to the move from opposite, where he had an All-America season in 2005, to left-side hitter. At opposite, the back sets are low and quick. On the left side, the set are in the air longer.

"He's getting accustomed to that," Wilton said.

Hakala's nine kills were offset by six errors, including four spikes that were blocked.

But Hakala, Vanzant and Eric Kalima, a fifth-year senior making his first NCAA start at libero, provided accurate passes to setter Brian Beckwith.

"Lauri passed wonderfully," Wilton said.

In the 3-point rating system for passes, Hakala earned a 2.7 score.

"That's very good," Wilton said. "Vanzant passed pretty well, too. So did Eric Kalima. We had a nice night in that department."

That opened the way for Clar to amass 14 kills on roll shots and ricochets off double blocks. Clar, who is 6 feet 2, was most effective with a four-step takeoff that evolved into a full-bodied windup.

"I just go out there and do my thing," Clar said. "I'm playing hard. That's what I need to do."

Beckwith said Clar and Vanzant, who had seven kills and hit .516, are playing with "new confidence. That's the way they're meant to play. When you step into this big arena, you step into some big shoes. They definitely filled them."

The Tigers, who arrived in town Wednesday and did not practice in the arena, could not respond.

They relinquished 16 points on missed serves and another 27 on attack errors. They scored 18 points on plays initiated by their serves, including a combined eight in the first two games. The Warriors scored 29 points when they served.

The Warriors stuck to the plan of placing serves that would force passes away from the net. They had no aces.

"That's the point," Wilton said. "We never try to get aces. If we get an ace, it's, 'oh, by the way, what a nice gift.' We want to cause a medium pass that will take an option or two away from their offense."

Beckwith, who abandoned his jump serve last week, baffled the Tigers with float serves. Of his 21 error-free serves, eight led to UH points.

"We're scoring tons of points with it," Beckwith said of the floater. "I'll do whatever I have to do to win. If that means floating, by all means, it's working. I'm going to stay with it."

The Tigers' erratic passes kept setter Garrett Morales on the run.

"I was taking a good look at the setter, trying to read the best I could," Rawson said. "My legs felt good. I felt quick. I tried to put up a solid block so we could play defense around it."

Clar even contributed six block assists.

"I can jump," said Clar, who can touch 11 feet 4. "The main thing is we played as a team."

Pacific coach Joe Wortmann admitted his team's problems stemmed from difficulty in the serve-and-pass phase.

"Our serving was not that good tonight," Wortmann said. "Our passing was not up to par. I think we could be the best passing team in the country, but we weren't tonight, that's for sure. They were very efficient, and we were not, and that was the difference."

The rematch is tonight.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.