IRVINE, Calif. — Lax play late is sending Mike Wilton to LAX a bit earlier than expected.

Wilton, Hawai'i men's volleyball coach, saw his team implode at the worst time in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation quarterfinals as UC Irvine rallied to beat the Warriors, 26-30, 27-30, 30-23, 30-22, 15-11, yesterday at Crawford Court.

The sixth-seeded Warriors thoroughly thrashed third-seeded Irvine in Games 1 and 2, before losing their serving prowess, momentum, and ultimately, a chance to meet BYU in the MPSF semifinals Thursday at Pepperdine.

"I planned on being here for another week," a stunned Wilton said after the defeat.

"I'm disappointed that we won the first two and we were in control. And I'm disappointed that we beat ourselves. There's no doubt about that."

Hawai'i, which entered with a 10-match winning streak, cracked in Game 3 before crumbling in Games 4 and 5.

The Anteaters controlled Games 3 and 4 and won going away in the fifth.

Irvine, which had trouble serving early, regrouped and with the support of a sellout crowd of 832, pulled out the five-game victory.

"We blew our load," senior outside hitter Lauri Hakala said. "Irvine is a much better team than they showed early. They began to play and then we started playing cautiously.

"We lost our momentum and never got it back. And they got their serve back."

Did they ever.

The Anteaters committed 14 combined service errors in Games 1 and 2, including 10 in the first. Irvine, which will meet BYU in the semis, finished with 24.

While Irvine was finding its serve, Hawai'i was in search of its own.

"We played some really nice volleyball in Games 1 and 2 and up to 12 (points) in Game 3," Wilton said. "We stayed steady and resilient; it's how we've been over the last 10 games. But Irvine is very good, with a lot of experienced seniors. But those missed serves affected us."

Starting with the record book.

The loss drops the Warriors to 13-14, the program's first losing season under Wilton and its first sub .500 year since 1992.

Hakala, who finished with a match-high 25 kills, was pleased with the way the Warriors went away.

"It's bittersweet," he said. "We knew we had them and could have gone all the way. We turned our season around. I'm proud of these guys. It's just a shame I can't play with them officially anymore."

Three Warriors had double-digits in digs — Ric Cervantes had a match-high 12, and Hakala and Eric Kalima added 10 apiece. Matt Vanzant had 17 kills and Brian Beckwith added 57 assists.

"Lauri and Brian had great matches," Irvine coach John Speraw said. "Brian had some neck-and-neck plays that we usually capitalize on, but he just made things happen."

Irvine libero Brent Asuka, a 2005 'Iolani alum, who had 11 digs for the Anteaters, said he always enjoys matches with Hawai'i.

"It's always good to beat (Hawai'i)," Asuka said. "Every time we play them, it's always fun; it's always a great game. They always bring the best out in us."

And the worse.

"I can't say enough about what Hawai'i was able to do with such a rough start," Speraw said. "All the injuries and starting 3-13. This is a team that came real close to going to the MPSF semis."