Match Notes

HONOLULU – The 12th-ranked University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team hosts second-ranked UC Irvine for a pair of key Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matches Friday, Feb. 10 and Sunday, Feb. 12 at the Stan Sheriff Center. Match times are 7:00 p.m. on Friday and 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.
 
The Warriors (6-5, 3-3 MPSF) begin a three-week homestand beginning with the top two teams in the country in UC Irvine and No. 1 UCLA (Feb. 17-18). UH is coming off a two-match sweep of Pacific last week in Stockton, Calif., to extend their season win streak to four matches. Outside hitter Steven Hunt led the Warrior attack with a season-high 25 kills in UH's come-from-behind five-set win in the opener and a match-high 14 kills in the rematch, a straight-set Hawai'i victory. Hawai'i also extended its win streak over the Tigers to 31 dating back to 1998.
 
UC Irvine (7-2, 3-2) had the week off and have won its last three matches since suffering its only two losses of the season to Brigham Young. The Anteaters' high-powered offense is led by opposite Carson Clark, who averages a team-best 3.58 kills per set, while the emergence of outside hitter Kevin Tillie has ignited Irvine in recent weeks. Tillie has averaged 3.31 kills per set on .464 hitting and was named AVCA National Player of the Week two weeks ago.
 
UH won the first 17 matches in the series with UC Irvine but the teams have been competitive since with the Anteaters holding a slight 13-12 advantage.
 
Matches #12 & #13
Who: No. 12 Hawai'i (6-5, 3-3 MPSF) vs. No. 2 UC Irvine (7-2, 3-2 MPSF)
When: Friday, Feb. 10 and Sunday, Feb. 12
Time: 7:00 p.m. HT on Friday; 5:00 p.m. HT on Sunday
Where: Stan Sheriff Center; Honolulu, HI
Television Coverage: OC Sports (Oceanic Cable Ch. 12 and 1012) will televise both matches live with Howard Dashefsky (play-by-play) and Chris McLachlin (color). Rebroadcast at 10:00 p.m. each night.
Streaming Video: Live video streaming is available on uhstreaming.oceanic.com.
Radio Coverage: ESPN 1420 will broadcast both matches live with Scott Robbs handling the play-by-play.
Audio Webcast: Available at espn1420am.com
Live Stats: Available at HawaiiAthletics.com
Tickets: Lower-level $11; Upper-level adult $8, Upper-level senior citizen $7; Upper-level student (4-HS) $3. UH-Manoa students receive admission with validated ID.
Promotions: Hawaiian airlines is the sponsor on Friday and will distribute 200 luggage grips and award interisland roundtrips to the winners of the promotional activity during intermission. Verizon is the sponsor on Sunday and will distribute UH-Verizon headbands to the first 150 fans to donate phones to the Verizon Hopeline.
Series Information: UH leads 29-13. UCI won all three matches last season in Irvine, Calif., including two regular season matches and a first round MPSF Tournament contest. The Warriors swept the two-match series in Honolulu in 2010, winning both matches in five-sets over the defending NCAA champion Anteaters. In the three previous meetings in Honolulu (2004, '06, '08), the Anteaters split the two-match series at the Stan Sheriff Center.
 
What's Next: The Warriors continue their three-week homestand with a pair of MPSF matches against top-ranked UCLA, Feb. 17-18. The Bruins defeated the Warriors in straight-sets in the championship match of the Outrigger Hotels Invitational last month.