All of the University of Hawai'i volleyball team's good work dissolved into a 28-30, 30-19, 30-28, 30-28 loss to top-ranked Pepperdine yesterday in the Stan Sheriff Center.

A matinee crowd of 1,710 watched the Warriors fall to 3-13 overall and 3-11 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation despite a gritty effort from setter Brian Beckwith and a reconfigured rotation.

Beckwith refused to exit after suffering a dislocated ring finger on his right hand on the first point of Game 4. Thirteen plays later, a timeout was called, and athletic trainer Tara Humphreys snapped the injured finger back in place. Beckwith recalled telling himself: "Just block it out, hit as hard as you can, and deal with the pain later."

For Beckwith, the injury was not as painful as UH's collapse.

With a lineup designed to improve the passing — Eric Kalima moved from libero to left-side hitter, freshman libero Ric Cervantes started for the first time since the season-opening weekend, and Lauri Hakala opened at opposite attacker for the second match in row — the Warriors won the first game. But they blew a 25-23 lead in Game 3 and squandered a 21-13 advantage in Game 4.

"I was pretty sure we were going to a fifth game," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "That collapse ... with such a big lead ..."

"That was unacceptable," Hakala said. "We just can't lose a lead like that."

The Waves stayed in the match with an active defense that kept the ball in play. When the Warriors hit shots off the roof of the double block, Pepperdine's back row would chase down the hit.

"I'm impressed with their defense," Hakala said. "They dogged so many of my hits. I got tired toward the end. You try to hit harder and harder, and you end up making errors. Their defense was excellent."

Credit goes to Gary Sato, a former Olympic coach who is regarded as the Waves' defensive coordinator. Sato has worked extensively in helping 6-foot-8 setter Jonathan Winder and 6-7 opposite attacker Paul Carroll become nimble defenders. Winder had 12 digs and Carroll 11.

"He's the defensive master," Winder said. "He's one of the best defensive coaches in the world."

The key, Sato said, is for the back-row players to have a clear view between the Waves' towering block.

"It's all about coordinating the block," Sato said. "We have such a big block, you have to be able to get around and see the hitter and the ball. The rest is letting (the ball) hit you."

Winder added: "Our defense helped us. The last game, we got some traditional Pepperdine blocks."

Indeed, the Waves' block changed the tone in Game 4. The Waves made five of their 17.5 blocks during a 7-1 run to close to 22-20. The Waves smothered Kalima's hits from the left side and set up a triple block as an obstacle to Vanzant's spikes from the middle of the back row.

Later, Carroll's consecutive kills gave the Waves a 28-26 lead. It was 29-28, when Kalima hit wide on aloha ball.

"All of the credit to them," Hakala said. "I just got tired at the end. I think the whole team did a little bit, myself especially. The tiny bit we needed to take it into Game 5, we didn't have."

There were optimistic moments. Vanzant had a career-high 24 kills. "I got off to a rocky start, but I kept swinging," he said.

Cervantes is a steady passer. Hakala has emerged as the go-to hitter.

After a season of juggling, Wilton said, "We have a lineup."

Still, yesterday's outcome was "a bummer," Beckwith said. "The streakiness of our season was mapped out in one match.

"We come out and beat them in the first game, then they end up crushing us (in Game 2)," Beckwith added. "It's a roller-coaster ride. We need to learn to cruise on the country road and stay steady. We're too up and down. It seems we're always two or three points away from the win. We have to learn how to finish games and not make so many errors when it counts."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.