Consider it a work in progress and sombering experience.

The sixth-ranked Long Beach State 49ers defeated 12th-ranked Hawai'i, 32-30, 30-20, 30-22, at the Stan Sheriff Center.

A crowd of 1,227 ushered in the start of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play.

The 49ers were led by Paul Lotman (21 kills, 5 errors), Dean Bittner (12 kills, 3 errors) and Dan Alexander (10 kills, 1 error). Mike Klipsch had 45 assists.

The 49ers hit .413 compared to the Warriors' .150.

"We've been training hard. We hit for a real high number, we kept our hitting errors down," said Long Beach State head coach Alan Knipe. "Whenever you do that you put yourself in a good position."

The flu-ridden Warriors were without starting middle blocker Matt Rawson and leading hitter Jim Clar. They were replaced by sophomore Steven Grgas in the middle and setter-turned-hitter Nejc Zemljak, a freshman.

"It's definitely tough when you lose two of your starters," Hawai'i setter Sean Carney said. "Jimbo, we thought he was going to play today, but pregame warmup he just didn't feel good."

Long Beach State (3-0, 1-0) had 13.5 blocks; Hawai'i (1-3, 0-1) had 5.5.

"We had no middle attack tonight to speak of. Hopefully we'll have him (Rawson) tomorrow," said Hawai'i head coach Mike Wilton.

The teams play again tonight at 7.

Zemljak had nine kills and Brennon Dyer added eight for Hawai'i. Carney had 32 assists.

The Warriors' first lead in Game 1 came at 8-7 after a kill by Keali'i Frank in the middle. There were seven ties and two lead changes in the game.

Long Beach State scored the final two points of the game on Lotman's kill and ace.

"We were really bad, and it's surprising to me how flat we were," Wilton said.

In Game 2, Long Beach State's largest lead was 19-9. The 49ers hit .407, while Hawai'i hit .054.

In Game 3, the 49ers took an 18-10 lead, but Hawai'i got within 25-22. A Warriors' hitting error, two consecutive blocks by Long Beach State and kills by Lotman and Kyle Friend ended it.

"They schooled us. They're a good volleyball team, there's no question, but we just need some work," Wilton said.

Reach Liane Yim at lyim@honoluluadvertiser.com.