In the big picture, matches against New Jersey Institute of Technology tomorrow and Saturday will have little impact on the Hawai'i men's volleyball team's playoff hopes.

But for now, the snapshot of the Warriors is out of focus. And the nonconference matches, UH team captain Jim Clar said, "are very important."

"We have to get whatever it is we need to get back — confidence, momentum, whatever," libero Ric Cervantes said.

The Warriors are trying to rebound after losing consecutive road matches against UC San Diego. The Warriors had won all 36 previous meetings between the teams.

The Warriors, who are 4-13 overall and 3-11 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, figure they need to win seven of their final eight MPSF matches, beginning with next week's road matches against UC Irvine, to qualify for the league's postseason tournament. The top eight MPSF teams qualify.

Of the UC San Diego matches, Cervantes said, "we went in there and played flat. It seemed like we had no sense of urgency. ... We still have a decent shot. We're wasting a good opportunity to compete and get better. ... Everybody — the coaches, the players — needs to step up and figure it out."

The Warriors will again tinker with the opening lineup for tomorrow's match against New Jersey. Brennon Dyer has reclaimed the opposite attacker's job.

Steven Grgas is moving from opposite, where he has played the past two weeks, back to middle blocker. Jarrod Lofy will start at one of the two middle positions. Grgas and Matt "Dragon" Rawson will compete for the other spot.

As an opposite, Grgas provided booming spikes and improved the right-side block. But he also appeared to tire, having to play twice as long as he did as a middle.

"It was a learning process maybe taking too long," Grgas offered.

Clar, Sean Carney, Josh Walker and Gus Tuaniga will compete for two spots on the left side. Walker has the strongest swing, but too often he hits only in the direction he faces, making him susceptible to blocks. Tuaniga is an accurate passer but inconsistent hitter. Clar has played mostly opposite this season, and Carney is a converted setter.

The Warriors had hoped that freshman outside hitter Steven Hunt would be available to play this week. But his right hand has not fully recovered from the fracture he suffered last month, and he will need at least another week of rehabilitation.

Hunt and Tuaniga, both freshmen, were the starting left-side hitters at the beginning of the season.

Lofy is a second-year freshman. Walker, Dyer and setter Nejc Zemljak are sophomores. Grgas and Rawson are juniors.

"It feels like we're putting in all the right effort and we're doing all the right things, but it feels like a series of unfortunate events," Clar said. "I've never seen a season like this before, where we put in so much amount of work, and haven't been rewarded. Injuries, illnesses, young guys ... we still have a chance. We need to win these two matches. It might give us the boost to make a run for the playoffs."