HONOLULU – For the second straight year, the University of Hawai'i men's volleyball alumni match went to five sets but this time, the varsity held on to a five-set victory Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. Set scores were 20-25, 25-16, 25-16, 21-25, 15-13.
The Warriors, who closed out the regular season last week, avenged a loss to their alumni last season. UH will next compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament where they will face fourth-seeded UC Irvine in a quarterfinal match Saturday, April 23 in Irvine, Calif.
The “Rainbows” alumni, made up of nearly 30 past players, gave the varsity a scare by sending the match to a fifth set with a 25-21 victory in Set 4. With the Warriors holding a 12-11 lead in the fifth, All-American opposite
Jonas Umlauft launched one of his 20 kills and
Harrison Carroll served up an ace giving the Warriors match point. However the alumni fended off two match points until
Nejc Zemljak nailed one of his seven kills for the match clincher.
Umlauft finished with 20 kills while
Joshua Walker added 13 kills and three aces. Along with his seven kills, Zemljak served up six aces.
For the alumni, Pedro Azenha (2003-05) led the way with 15 kills and four blocks. Nemanja Komar (2008) added with seven kills while middle blockers Maulia LaBarre (2001-06) and Joshua Stanhiser (2003-04) each contributed five kills and seven blocks.
In Set 1, the alums jumped out to a 13-7 advantage before watching the varsity rally to take at 19-18 lead. The Rainbows then scored six straight with Eyal Zimet at the service line. Zimet nailed two service aces during that span and the game ended with
Steven Hunt's serve into the net.
The Warriors rebounded by routing the alumni in the second and third sets with identical 25-16 scores. The Rainbows showed some life in the fourth behind Azenha's hitting and the blocking of LaBarre and Stanhiser for a 25-21 win.
In the all-alumni match, the Black team, led by Jerry Kukuruda (1980-81) and Stanhiser rallied to defeat the Green team, led by Vernon Podlewski (2001-02) and Alex Berganio (1992), 21-25, 25-20, 25-18. Also on the Black team were Victor Poppinga (1984-88), Sivan Leoni (1995-98), and Curt Vaughan (1994-97).
Kukuruda (1980-81), who attended the event from Kansas City, Mo., still holds UH single-match records for most block solos (7) and total blocks (22). Stanhiser also flew in from California.
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