Tough defense and a heapin' helping of Jim Clar could be just what it takes to keep the University of Hawai'i volleyball team headed in the right direction as it cobbles together the rest of its formidable resources.

A turnstile crowd of 1,244 watched the formula succeed last night as the Warriors took down Ball State in four games — 26-30, 30-26, 30-24 and 30-17 — in the second round of the Outrigger Invitational at Stan Sheriff Center.

Clar led the Warriors with 23 kills on .340 hitting, five digs, six blocks (one solo) and three service aces. Keali'i Frank shored up the defense with 11 blocks (one solo) to go along with six kills.

Setter Sean Carney finished with 50 assists and nine digs.

Matt Sprague led a balanced Cardinals attack with 12 kills and seven digs. Matt McCarthy added 11 kills and two blocks.

With the win, the Warriors improve to 1-1 on the young season.

"It's going to be a tough process," said head coach Mike Wilton. "We've got some new ingredients, but as we shore up our ball control and passing, it'll keep getting better. I liked that we were able to bounce back from that first set."

Earlier, No. 4 Penn State (2-0) swept No. 3 UCLA, 30-19, 30-26, 38-36.

The Bruins led 29-27 in the third game but the Nittany Lions tied the score on consecutive kills by Matt Anderson and Max Lipsitz. Anderson notched four of his match-high 24 kills down the stretch to deliver PSU the victory.

Anderson hit .465 for the match. Ryan Sweitzer added 13 kills (.458 hitting) and six digs, and assisted on five blocks for PSU.

Stymied by the Nittany Lions' formidable front line, the Bruins hit just .257 as a team. Garrett Muagututia led UCLA with 14 kills (.273 hitting) and eight digs. Dylan Bowermaster added 12 kills on just .133 hitting.

The Warriors face UCLA tonight at 7 p.m.

After two games last night in which the energy often ebbed and rarely flowed, the Warriors' defense took control in the pivotal third game.

UH held a tenuous 20-19 lead when Carney, Frank and newly added Dusan Matic teamed to block Sprague. The trio ganged up on Ted Garard on the next play, drawing a thunderous ovation from the waking crowd.

UH led 24-21 after another block by Clar and Frank, forcing a BSU timeout. After the break, Clar and Frank stuffed Marcus Imwalle for a score, then combined with Carney for another roofing project on Imwalle, who grabbed his hair in frustration.

"We did a good job as a team," Clar said. "Our defense in the third got us flowing and gave us a big emotional lift."

Clar closed out the game with two explosive kills and a service ace. He credited solid passing by the whole team and on-the-mark sets by Carney in particular for his big night.

Frank said the team's improved passing allowed for more time to analyze and attack the defense.

"When we were able to do that, we took over," he said.

Wilton said he was impressed with Matic, who rebounded from a tough second game (his first of the night) with four kills and six blocks in the final two games.

"He was a middle blocker his whole life, but because he can pass, we've asked him to be a left-side hitter," Wilton said "There are a lot of nuances to that position, which I think is the most important, because it has a lot to say on the first and third contacts. In the last two sets, he got some kills and blocked a few balls. I thought he did well."

The teams battled evenly in the first game until, tied 19-19, BSU took the lead for good on a service error by Frank and a pair of momentum-building blocks.

Hawai'i rebounded in the second, grabbing the lead from the first serve and holding on despite a late charge by the Cardinals.

Wilton said expects a rocky road to improvement, likening the process to "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride," but was impressed with the team's concentration last night.

"I thought they did a good job of keeping their minds in the moment," he said. "It's a lot like life. It's easy to think about what just happened or what's going to happen next. It's the human condition. But the key to success is concentrating, and that's what we did."

Wilton knows he'll need more of the same when the Warriors face a talented UCLA team that is also struggling to find itself.

UCLA head coach Al Scates said he will likely tinker with his lineup in search of a reliable group to join libero Tony Ker, outside hitter Jamie Diefenbach and Muagututia.

"I'm not happy with tonight's performance," Scates said. "I won't be reluctant to play other people."

Scates said he also wants to see more hitting from the right side. The Bruins offense faltered last night when Penn State overloaded the Bruin's left-side hitters.

"We need to diversify our offense," he said. "We only went to the left side tonight. We're predictable."

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.