It appears the University of Hawai'i volleyball team is back in the swing of things even if its swings are not back.

The Warriors, who swept Cal State Northridge last week, are hitting .235 entering tonight's match against Lewis. Last year, the Warriors led the nation with a .342 hitting percentage.

"We're not putting balls away," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "The setting is good, and so is the passing. We're not terminating plays."

In Saturday's victory over Northridge, the Warriors hit .229 and sided out at 55 percent.

"That's pretty low," Wilton said. "To win, you usually need to side out around 70 percent."

But with a menu of problems during a 3-13 start, the Warriors decided to address their most pressing need: accurate passing. Moving Eric Kalima from libero back to left-side hitter improves the passing, even though Kalima is not an overpowering attacker.

Kalima also is suffering from what is described as "jumper's knees."

"It's just wear and tear," Wilton said.

Kalima has been prescribed anti-inflammatory medicine. He also plays libero in practice.

"We're monitoring it very closely," Wilton said. "We're really cutting down on his reps."

Wilton said Kalima, a co-captain, "is very valuable to us. He serves the ball in. He digs balls. As for his hitting, our offense is just 'hit it in,' anyway."

Wilton said studies have shown the worst offensive plays are hitting the ball out or getting blocked.

"We strive not to do those things," Wilton said. "If you're in a tough situation, if the block is on you, just hit it over the net and live to fight another battle."

Wilton said Sean Carney has been promoted to Kalima's immediate backup. Carney, a setter, began practicing as a left-side hitter last week.

"He's a good volleyball player," Wilton said. "Playing on the outside takes a lot of skills. He can do a lot of them. That's how Kalima is, too. Sean's as close to Kalima as anybody else on the team."

Wilton said there will be certain roles for outside hittter Jake Schkud. Last week, when the Warriors were stuck in a rotation, Schkud was brought in to boost the front-left attack.

"It was against a float server, and we could hide him," Wilton said. "Jake has a lot of skills. If he were a better passer, he would be out on the floor all of the time."

For now, the Warriors are focused on qualifying for the eight-team Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoffs. This weekend's matches won't count toward that goal, but it will help the Warriors build confidence.

"We want to respect all of our opponents and fear nobody," Wilton said. "We're getting past realizing our enemy is us. I don't think we're beating ourselves now."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.