Curt Vaughan got behind the steering wheel again and drove the Hawaii men's volleyball team to a 8-15, 15-6, 15-11, 15-5 victory over Cal State Northridge last night. The 10-ranked Rainbows, who had lost three of their last four matches, improved to 9-7 with the non-conference victory. Unranked Northridge, which upset Hawaii in a conference match on Friday, is 7-8.

Vaughan, a 6-foot-3 senior, came off the bench to reclaim the setter position he lost to Kahinu Lee last week. Amid school-girl screams from the 5,541 in the Special Events Arena, he entered the match midway through Game 1, but could not rally the Rainbows from a 7-1 deficit. However, Vaughan remained in the match and registered 59 assists in the next three games.

"Curt gives (us) a chance to be a little more diversified with our offense because he has a little more experience than Kahinu," said Hawaii coach Mike Wilton. In games 2, 3 and 4, that clearly showed. Jason Ring (21 kills) and Aaron Wilton (20) were the main benefactors. Motion plays - where Vaughan would fake to one of the middle hitters before setting to either Ring or Wilton - worked to perfection. "Curt is such a deceptive setter," said Ring. "He's going to draw the block away and that just makes it easier for us. All we had to do is hit it in."

By game 3, the Matadors showed their frustration. With the game tied at 9, Colin Smith spiked a ball that appeared to land inside the deep back corner of the Rainbow side of the court. After discussion by the officials, the ball was ruled out. It would lead to a 5-0 UH run that all but demoralized Northridge. Later in the game, when Matador setter Dan Nash was called for a net violation, he made an obscene gesture at head official Dan Hironaka, who responded with a red card. The Rainbows got a point for the net violation and another for the card. "I'm not so sure they were ever the same after that," Mike Wilton said.

By Game 4, the Rainbows were rolling. Ring put down four kills in a 5-0 streak that gave UH a 10-3 lead.