The University of Hawai'i volleyball team conquered its passing problems and then Long Beach State for a 25-30, 30-24, 30-24, 30-28 road victory last night in the Pyramid.

The ninth consecutive victory kept the Warriors in a seventh-place tie with Southern California in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

The top eight teams qualify for the MPSF playoffs.

The Warriors are 11-13 overall and 9-11 in the MPSF. They close the regular season with two matches against 11th-place Stanford.

UH, USC and Pacific entered last night's matches in a three-way tie. USC defeated Stanford, and Pacific lost to top-ranked Pepperdine, which clinched the regular-season title.

But the Warriors, who hold the tie-breaking edge over USC and Pacific, could finish as high as sixth. The current No. 6, Cal State Northridge, is 10-10 in the MPSF with two matches remaining, including one against Pepperdine. The Warriors own the tie-breaker over Northridge.

"We have to keep thinking: 'One game at a time,' " UH coach Mike Wilton said.

That was a wise approach following the Warriors' erratic performance in Game 1. The 49ers' mix of serves — jumpers and floats — mystified the UH passers. The Warriors also were overwhelmed by the 49ers' spikes. The Warriors had two digs — both by left-side hitter Matt Vanzant — in Game 1.

"They outplayed us in that one," Wilton said.

During the 90-second intermission between the first two games, Wilton noticed that Vanzant appeared to be winded.

"I thought Vanzant needed a breather to see what was going on," Wilton said.

Instead of using Sean Carney or Jake Schkud, Wilton summoned Ernie Vidinha, a second-year freshman from the Kamehameha Schools.

"I thought we needed a change, and he can do the job," Wilton said.

Vidinha opened Game 2 as the third UH passer, easing the workload on libero Ric Cervantes and the other left-side hitter, Eric Kalima.

"Ernie helped a lot," Wilton said. "He solidified our passing. He blocked well. He served well. He did a nice job."

Vidinha also contributed a career-high 11 kills.

Most of all, Vidinha boosted the Warriors' confidence.

"They had a good mental approach," Wilton said. "It was as if they were telling themselves: 'Serve the ball to me.' That's always a good attitude for a passer to have. ... I brought Ernie in because I thought Vanzant needed a breather. Ernie played so well it turned into a long breather."

After the passing improved, Brian Beckwith had more options in setting the offense. He placed high sets to Lauri Hakala (20 kills) near the right pin, and quick sets to Matt Rawson (nine kills) and Dio Dante (eight kills).

"They answered the bell," Wilton said.

In Friday's match, the Warriors squandered a 22-16 lead in losing Game 4. In last night's fourth game, the Warriors' 25-19 lead was quickly reduced to 25-24. But Hakala responded with a crossing shot to end the 49ers' 5-0 run, and then the Warriors were able to sideout the rest of the way.