For the Stanford volleyball team, a steady path was the best way to a 30-28, 30-26, 30-27 victory over Hawai'i last night in the Stan Sheriff Center.

"That's their game," UH outside hitter Sean Carney said. "They're not flashy players. They're real consistent. That's what makes them a solid team."

The Cardinal used tough serves, accurate passes and a multi-threat offense to quell every Warrior comeback attempt.

The Cardinal improved to 10-7 overall and 6-6 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The Warriors, playing their first home match this month, fell to 3-9 and 2-7.

The rematch is tomorrow night.

"We had too many peaks and valleys," UH middle blocker Steven Grgas said. "We held in the beginning, we lost in the middle, and we tried to pull back in the end. That's a hard thing to do in volleyball — to try to come back. I told the guys, 'Let's avoid the valleys.' "

The Warriors entered with a revised lineup that was assembled in the past week. Carney, who started the first 11 matches at setter, replaced injured Steven Hunt at left-side hitter. Nejc Zemljak, used mostly as a pinch-server, made his first start of the season at setter. Jarrod Lofy, a second-year freshman, opened at one of the middle positions.

The reviews were mixed. Lofy played well, connecting on seven kills without an error, and contributing to six of the Warriors' 15.5 blocks.

Zemljak tried to make the most of inconsistent passing.

And Carney struggled through the middle of the second set before finding his groove — and a powerful swing.

"This is a lineup we just started within the week," Carney said. "It's a work in progress."

UH head coach Mike Wilton said: "We played some nice volleyball at times. But we were not able to sustain it. We have to keep banging away at it."

The Cardinal, meanwhile, used a wide range of serves to disrupt the Warriors' rhythm. In particular, Kawika Shoji, Stanford's setter and the son of Rainbow Wahine coach Dave Shoji, befuddled the Warriors by mixing jump serves and jump floats. The Cardinal scored on nine of Shoji's 18 serves.

"We're working on mixing things ups," Shoji said. "I'm doing whatever I can to score points, whether that's jump serves or float serves. I was fortunate to score some points."

On-the-mark passes from Spencer McLachlin, Erik Shoji and Brad Lawson gave Kawika Shoji several offensive options.

He fed quick sets to Brandon Williams (nine kills, no errors) in the middle, and high sets to Evan Romero (21 kills, .385 accuracy), Lawson (11 kills) and McLachlin (eight kills) at the pins or behind the 3-meter line.

Williams, who is maitre d-friendly off the court, attacked each set with rousing emotion.

"It helps me get pumped up," Williams said of his on-court persona. "If I'm having fun, I always play better."

Kawika Shoji and Williams, it seems, have had an easy connection all season.

"It stems from good passes from those three guys in the back row," Shoji said.

Romero, meanwhile, hits at two levels: Hard and harder. His high spikes off the top of the block repeatedly ricocheted above the reach of the back-row defenders.

"Evan was awesome," Shoji said. "We've had a good connection for three years. He keeps on improving. That's really exciting for our team."

Romero said: "The set hits itself."

Romero credited Stanford's Hawai'i-raised starters — the Shoji brothers, Lawson and McLachlin.

"I think it's tough to come back and play in front of their home crowd," Romero said. "They did well with the pressure. ... It was all Hawai'i boys passing out there. They all passed well."

Romero also said he has formed a warm-weather bond with his Hawai'i-raised teammates.

"I'm from Miami," Romero said. "I'm part of the family."

Visit Tsai's blog at http://warriorbeat.honadvblogs.com.