A four-week cringe came to an end last night when the University of Hawai'i volleyball team outlasted Southern California, 24-30, 31-29, 30-27, 30-24.

Before 1,892 in the Stan Sheriff Center, the Warriors buried a seven-match losing streak, winning for the first time since Jan. 19.

"Relentless," said setter Brian Beckwith, who celebrated by raising his arms after aloha ball and then embracing each front-row fan in the Manoa Maniacs section. "That's the only way to explain it. You can't imagine what we went through in the last month. But each time we came to this arena, each time we went to practice, it was relentless. At no time did anyone ever give up during this losing streak. Hopefully, we can build upon it."

It won't get easier. The Warriors play road matches against top-ranked Brigham Young Friday and Saturday. It is hoped the Warriors' best overall player, Lauri Hakala, will be available. He has missed three consecutive matches because of an abdominal strain.

"There's help on the horizon when Lauri comes back," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "That will change things immensely."

Hakala will attempt to compete in all drills during Monday's practice.

"I'll try to take a few swings," Hakala said. "It's healing. I know that, but it still hurts when I bend back. It's for sure getting better. I hope to play against BYU."

For now, the Warriors are cherishing last night's resurgence. They were outplayed in the first game, squandered two six-point leads before rallying in the second game, and battled from an 18-13 deficit in the third game.

"This was a huge, huge mountain for us to get over," Beckwith said. "We showed we can climb up anything. We wanted this so bad. Our locker room was full of eagerness. We were ready for this one. It showed. We didn't let up at all, even in that third game. We battled back. That's what we've tried to do the whole season: keep on battling back and never giving up."

The Warriors overcame erratic play — 27 attack errors and momentum-busting missed serves. Matt Vanzant, who started in place of Hakala, had 13 kills but gave away 17 points on 11 attack errors and six missed serves.

But Vanzant made some key passes and digs. Opposite attacker Jim Clar chipped spikes off USC's towering block. Jacob Schkud, who had competed with and against several USC players in California, slammed 13 kills. And Beckwith scrambled to turn imperfect passes into functional sets. In one role reversal, Beckwith hammered a pipe set from Clar.

"It was good grit, not necessarily good play," Wilton said. "We didn't fold, even when we had some self-destructive-type behavior."

The Trojans, who won Wednesday's match between the teams in five games, had difficulty regrouping after outside hitter Juan Figueroa suffered a sprained left ankle early in Game 3.

Figueroa, who had 35 kills Wednesday, used his 43-inch vertical jump to soar for a spike. His right foot became entangled in the net, and he tried to clutch the support. He landed awkwardly.

"When I came down, I rolled my ankle," said Figueroa, who was on crutches after the match. "I wanted to play. I tried to walk on it, but I couldn't."

USC setter Jimmy Killian said: "We had some guys come in and do a great job. But (the Warriors) exploited some of our weaknesses. They were able to exploit our block, and things didn't work out. They played a great game."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.