José José Delgado was very, very good in Hawai'i's 30-19, 30-22, 30-21 volleyball victory over previously unbeaten Ohio State in the second round of the Outrigger Invitational.

Before a Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 2,323, Delgado slammed a season-high 17 kills to boost the Warriors (3-1) to their second consecutive three-game sweep. The Warriors have won the six games by an average margin of 8.3 points.

The Buckeyes, who upset UCLA in the opening round, fell to 6-1.

Delgado led the way with his all-points hitting, accurate passing and system-busting serves.

The fifth-year senior from Puerto Rico has emerged — without pouting or self-pity — after being benched last week.

"He's being a good teammate," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "The Jose we're seeing (in matches) is the Jose I see in practice all of the time. He's a good player."

Delgado said: "I know whoever's on the court will give 100 percent. If I'm not the guy out there, the other guy will give it his best. That's the way it has to be if we want to go all the way. We have to be a team. We can't be selfish."

Last night, Delgado was everywhere the Buckeyes didn't want him to be. He pounded shots from both front-corner positions. He blasted six kills from the backrow off pipe sets. He also had two aces, three blocks, four digs and received 12 serves without an error.

"He's a good hitter because he runs his route hard, no matter where he is," UH setter Brian Beckwith said. "He calls for the ball loud. It's tough not to give someone like him the ball."

What's more, Delgado has suffered in silence the past two years. He has two slipped discs and was born without an L-5 bone in his back. "Basically, I have a broken back," he said. "My back is always going to hurt. I can't be worried about that. I have to go out there and have as much fun as possible and not worry about the pain."

Beckwith said: "He's had back problems throughout his career. He's continuing to strengthen it. If he's feeling good, we're feeling good."

For the second night in a row, the Warriors set the tone with blistering jump serves.

The Buckeyes' difficulty in passing led to predictable sets and allowed the Warriors to plant their block. In Game 1, the Warriors amassed 10 blocks, including seven by opposite hitter Lauri Hakala, who is optimistically listed at 6 feet 2. Hakala and middle blocker Dio Dante each finished with nine blocks.

"Sometimes it goes that way, sometimes it doesn't," Hakala said. "I've been really mindful of my footwork. I'm happy it finally worked."

Despite committing 13 service errors, the Warriors scored 36 points on plays initiated by their serves. The Buckeyes scored 10 points when they served.

"I don't think they were a bad passing team," UH middle blocker Kyle Klinger said. "I think we just served very aggressive. We were getting a ton of points from it. We kept them out of sync all night long."

The Buckeyes, meanwhile, could not answer. They gave away 15 points on service errors, and put in play only 76 percent of their serves. The goal was 90-percent service accuracy.

Libero Alfee Reft, Delgado and outside hitter Matt Carere also were able to repeatedly loft accurate passes to Beckwith, giving him multiple setting options. Early in the match, Beckwith fed middle attackers Dante and Klinger. Later, Beckwith turned to Delgado, Carere and Hakala.

Hakala, who can smack a volleyball at speeds of up 74 mph, had nine kills and hit .412. One of his kills ricocheted off an OSU player and landed in the fourth row.

"He hits so hard, it's scary," Dante said. "I'm glad he's on our team."

Beckwith added: "When he hits a volleyball, you hear a loud, loud 'pop.' He really puts all five fingers on the volleyball. He crushes it really hard. We're looking to see the day he hits it so hard there will be some red, white and blue on the court."

Hakala welcomes his reputation as a hard hitter. "That way when the opponent thinks I'm going to hit it hard, I can tip the ball," Hakala said. "That gives you another weapon."

In the early match, left-side hitter Paul George blasted 12 kills and opposite attacker Damien Scott had 11 to power UCLA to a 36-34, 30-26, 30-21 victory over Penn State.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.