The University of Hawai'i volleyball team lost its sixth match in a row and, perhaps, its best player for an extended period.

Led by opposite attacker Evan Patak and left-side hitter Bryan Berman, fourth-ranked UC Santa Barbara surged to a 30-26, 19-30, 30-19, 30-20 victory before 1,792 in the Stan Sheriff Center last night.

The Warriors were without left-side hitter Lauri Hakala, who is suffering from an abdominal strain. Hakala, who began experiencing pain three weeks ago, played in Thursday's match between the teams. But he said he "strained it more" during that match, and notified the coaches yesterday morning he would not be available to play.

"I'm going to be sitting out for a while, I think," said Hakala, a captain and third-year senior. "If I keep straining it like this, it might lead to a tear, and then I'll be out for months, and that's not good. I'd rather take some time off and be back."

UH coach Mike Wilton said: "It's important we give him some time to heal."

Hakala's replacement, Mark Ribeiro, made his UH debut, hammering a team-high 16 kills. But even Ribeiro's feats could not counter Patak's power play.

Patak, who is 6 feet 8 and 250 pounds, said his spikes can zip at more than 70 mph. In addition to 17 kills, Patak's blistering serves kept the Warriors on the heels of their Asics.

"To actually be on the court when Patak is serving is an experience on its own," UH setter Brian Beckwith said. "(The serve) comes on you so quick. There's no spin. He hits a really hard ball. To be back there is to experience it. It's a thunder clap."

Patak slammed seven aces, include five in Game 4. The Gauchos scored 13 points when Patak was serving.

Patak's serves induced unique strategies on both sides of the net. Twice the Gauchos replaced setter Bart Kowalski with middle blocker Michael Fisher. The Warriors aligned four passers to receive Patak's serves, including a second libero when Ric Cervantes replaced Ribeiro.

"Patak had a really good match," Wilton acknowledged.

The key to his successful serving, Patak said, is in the toss.

"I've done a lot of different ones," he said, before settling on the current routine. "I've worked out the kinks. You've got to get it nice and high, and go up there and get it."

He said his tosses are between 40 and 45 feet high.

"When I go back there, I try to block everything out — the hecklers, the situation of the game," Patak said. "I focus on the toss. I step with my right (foot), toss, then, left, right, left. Once you're up there, you hit it while leading yourself onto the court. That's my thing."

The Gauchos also received a boost from Berman, who is usually one of the primary passers. But for most of the season, the Gauchos had lacked offensive punch from the left side. Last night, Berman was asked to abandon his usual role.

"We made it a goal to come out and really set the left side and open up our offense," Berman said. "They gave me an opportunity to start swinging. If I'm going to get a chance, I'm going to make the most of it."

Berman and Patak were next to each other in the rotation. With the Warriors keying on Patak, who hits from the right side on five of six rotation turns, Berman often faced a single block.

Berman slammed 17 kills in 28 swings. His only attack error came in Game 3.

"I was jazzed up for the game," said 6-foot-2 Berman, who can touch 11 feet 4.

Wilton said: "A couple of guys really went off tonight. No. 4 (Berman) put on a show."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.