Lauri Hakala, the University of Hawai'i volleyball team's best overall player, said he will not be available as a hitter for another 10 days.

For the past three weeks, Hakala has suffered from an abdominal strain. The injury prevented him from playing in Friday's match against UC Santa Barbara. It should sideline him for tomorrow's home match against Southern California in the Stan Sheriff Center.

UH coach Mike Wilton said Hakala will be placed on the active roster for tomorrow's match.

"We can use him to come in and pass for somebody," Wilton said.

But Hakala can do little else.

He said it is painful to reach back — a movement necessary for hitting, serving and blocking.

In Hakala's absence, Jake Schkud, Mark Ribeiro, Matt Vanzant and Ernie Vidinha will compete for the two left-side positions.

Hakala and libero Eric Kalima are the Warriors' best passers. Hakala was an All-America opposite attacker last season. He moved to the left side a week into this season.

Hakala said he suffered the injury initially by repeatedly reaching back to attack sets on the left side.

He started last Wednesday's first match against Santa Barbara. But after the match, he complained of soreness.

X-rays have not been successful in determining the severity of the soft-tissue injury.

"It could be either not too bad of a strain or something more serious," Hakala said. "There's really no way of telling unless it's a really bad tear and you can feel it."

As a third-year senior, Hakala said, "You want to play. But you have to be realistic about it, and say, 'OK, now is not a good time to do this.' "

He said he hopes to play in next week's road matches against top-ranked Brigham Young. A more reasonable goal, he said, is to be ready for the matches against Pepperdine March 8 and 10.

"For sure, I don't want to sit out any more than that," Hakala said.

Hakala worked only on his passing during yesterday's practice.

"I'm not going to take any swings for maybe another 10 days," he said. "I'm going to take it easy for as long as it takes. I guess you could say I'm out indefinitely."

Hakala doubles as a co-captain.

Because Kalima, the other co-captain, plays a position that is not on the court the entire match, setter Brian Beckwith will be elevated to floor captain. The floor captain is the only player allowed to argue calls with the referees.

"It's a role I feel fine in," said Beckwith, a senior. "With Eric out there, it helps."

Kalima said: "(Hakala) is still here. He can do what he can, whatever the doctor allows. If he's not out there, we're going to miss him. Anyone on this team who is hurt is a loss, no matter if they suit up or not."

Hakala has played in too many matches to be considered for a medical hardship. Even if that were an option, Hakala said, this will be his last season.

"I want to graduate in December," said Hakala, a native of Finland. "I think three years (of NCAA volleyball) is enough for me, although I absolutely love it here. ... I want to go on and play somewhere else (professionally) and find new challenges. Until then, I want to win this year."

For now the Warriors are focused on claiming one of the MPSF's eight playoff spots. The Warriors, who are 2-6 in the MPSF, probably would need to win eight of their final 14 league matches to be in contention.

"I feel the progress, for sure," Beckwith said. "I feel we should have won some of those matches. But we can't try and make up a whole season in one or two matches. We can't sit here and dwell on what's going to happen if we don't start winning. We have to try and win.

"You can't worry about the future," Beckwith added. "You can only worry about this week. We have to try and win this week."

Wilton said: "The year's not over yet. Over the course of a long year, a lot of different things can happen."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.