LOS ANGELES — Its best player was hardly at her best and there were streaks of sloppiness that looked nothing like the NCAA Volleyball Championship's seventh-seeded team, but Hawai'i survived the first round tonight by beating Belmont, 25-19, 25-11, 25-16. The match lasted a little more than an hour and was watched by about 200 at Southern California's Galen Center.

USC (17-11) defeated West Coast Conference champion San Diego (23-5) and meets the Rainbow Wahine (29-3) at 4 p.m. Hawai'i time tomorrow for the right to advance to the Fort Collins, Colo., regional.

The Trojans won, 21-25, 25-12, 25-19, 26-24.

The Rainbows, ranked sixth in the coaches poll, overcame an erratic offensive effort — they hit .253 — with 35 digs, seven blocks and 10 aces, five by Amber Kaufman. Belmont, the country's fourth-best serving team coming in, aced UH but once and finished its season 25-8.

All five 'Bows had at least five kills, with freshman Kanani Danielson getting a match-high eight on .368 hitting. Senior Nickie Thomas hit .625 with five of the seven UH stuffs.

Hawai'i's beginning was nothing to brag about. Its middle did not have a kill until the 39th serve and only a strong finish dragged its hitting percentage up to .200, despite Aneli Cubi-Otineru going 4-for-4.

Two-time WAC Player of the Year Jamie Houston blasted set point to bring her attack percentage up to zero (3 kills, 3 errors, 11 swings). In fairness to Houston, that final set was the first really good one she saw, the rest coming off wild passes and against two blockers.

In contrast, the Bruins nicked and tipped to stay close. They called time down 19-13 and scored four straight, including their only kill of the set that was actually hit hard … by freshman setter Channing Salava. She was Belmont's best hitter in the first set, going 4-for-5.

Unfortunately, her teammates hit .033 and were not able, or willing, to hit hard. The 'Bows regrouped and scored six of the last eight, digging the rest of the Bruins' dinks.

Salava stopped attacking in the second set as Belmont's passing took a dive. Cat Mundy, the Bruins' senior all-conference hitter, tried to be aggressive offensively and was rejected, along with freshman Maggie Johnson. The set started with a lurch, the 'Bows scoring the first three and Belmont five straight before Kaufman served 10 in a row, acing the Bruins four times.

By then, Hawai'i was in complete control despite still struggling to find an offensive rhythm. Its defense was so good that Belmont left sides Mundy and Johnson were hitting a combined negative .181 after two sets, and the 'Bows were beginning to sub.

They cruised through the final set despite more ragged offense. Belmont hit just .087 for the match, with Jenny Gray getting six kills and Mundy and Salava five apiece. Mundy was one of three Bruin hitters with a negative percentage.