By most estimations, the 11th-ranked University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team's five-game battle with No. 4 UCLA at Stan Sheriff Center last night was an encouraging sign for a club still trying to figure out how to play together.

But after taking a 2-1 game advantage (which could easily have been a 3-0 win if not for two late game errors) before falling to UCLA, 24-30, 30-28, 24-30, 30-22, 15-11, the Warriors' collective enthusiasm was tempered at best.

"We know UCLA is a great team, and to take them to five games is good for us, but a loss is still a loss," said UH setter Sean Carney. "There are a lot of positive things we can take from this, but we're not happy with the overall outcome. It came down to a couple of points."

Jim Clar led the Warriors with 17 kills on just .204 hitting, nine digs and three blocks. Jacob Schkud added 11 kills (.132), seven digs and five blocks.

UH finished the season-opening Outrigger Invitational with a 1-2 record.

The Bruins were led by explosive sophomore hitter Garrett Muagututia, who finished with 19 ooh-inspiring kills, seven digs, four blocks and one ace. Jeff Woodley chipped in 11 kills on .625 hitting, seven digs and two blocks in just three games of play.

In the earlier match, Penn State made quick work of Ball State, 30-20, 30-17, 30-19, to complete its perfect run through the tournament.

Matt Anderson finished with 17 kills on .519 hitting. Ryan Sweitzer added 11 kills, three digs and three blocks for the Nittany Lions.

Ball State was led by Marcus Imwalle's eight kills (-.095 hitting).

Flustering UCLA with a balanced offensive attack in the first game, the Warriors dropped what proved to be a crucial second game.

After a long rally that saw the ball make contact with all 12 players on the court plus the scoreboard, Clar hammered a shot down the middle to put UH ahead 24-22.

The teams tied five times down the stretch as UCLA repeatedly grabbed the advantage only to give it away with service errors.

With the score tied 28-28, UH lost the game on a bad set by Dusan Matic and a double-touch call.

UCLA came out flat in the third and the Warriors took advantage of numerous service errors and mistimed hits to race to a 20-11 lead.

The Bruins got a spark off the bench from sophomore outside hitter Woodley, who had three kills and a block assist as the Bruins went on a run to cut the lead to 24-21.

But the run faltered on a long hit by Brett Perrine and UH again capitalized, this time with a well-placed shot to the gut of an empty defense by Clar and an authoritative double-block on Muagututia by Keali'i Frank and Sean Carney.

Frank and Carney teamed for another block on Woodley to end the game.

It was the Warriors' energy that faltered in the fourth. After a sloppy start that found UH behind 15-14, the Bruins went on a 7-1 run behind the power hitting of Muagututia and Ryan Rattelle. With its defense leaking and its hitters unable to get in rhythm, UH never got on track in the game.

"Volleyball is a game of serve and pass and in the last two games they served well," Carney said. "There was nothing we could do about that. They got the momentum and they pulled it out."

Its momentum — and its service game — recovered, UCLA took an early lead and held on in the deciding game.

"Volleyball is a lot like life," said Warriors head coach Mike Wilton. "There are ups and downs, but as we spend more time together and play together, we'll get better at it."

Despite the loss, Wilton said he was happy with the play of freshman Nemljak, who provided a spark playing off of his usual setter position. Nemljak, used as a serving specialist the previous night, finished the night with seven kills, four digs, two assists and a block.

"I thought he was really good tonight," Wilton said.

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.