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LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The No. 1 University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team defeated No. 12 UCLA, 22-25, 23-25, 25-16, 25-19, 15-8, Monday night at the Pauley Pavilion. UH improves to a 13-match winning streak and a 20-3, 15-2 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation record.

The Rainbow Warriors' victory at Pauley Pavilion marks their first away win in MPSF quarters since 2010 and UH's first 20-win season since 2006. Outside hitter Sinisa Zarkovic led the Rainbow Warriors with 18 kills, three blocks, and seven digs. Middle-blocker Taylor Averill finished the night with six blocks hitting at .565 with 16 kills and just three errors in 23 swings.

Along with Averill, middle-blockers Davis Holt (five kills, one block) and Zach Radner (five kills, one block) stepped up to combine for eight blocks and 26 kills on a .553 hitting percentage. Additionally, opposite Brook Sedore recorded his second double-double of the season with 13 kills and 13 digs.  

After falling short in the first two sets, UH's backup setter Alex Jones stepped into the lineup and steered the Warriors to a .619 hitting percentage (14-1-21) to win Set 3, ultimately turning the match around. Jones ended the night with 36 assists in three sets. The 'Bows stunningly improved from a .140 hitting percentage in the first two sets to a .436 in the final three. Meanwhile, Jake Arnitz led the Bruins' offense with a team-high 13 kills. 

UH struggled through the second half of Set 1 after the Bruins gained a 9-5 advantage to pull ahead 23-19. Averill responded quickly for the Warriors with a kill followed by a double-block with Franciskovic to inch back 21-23, but it just wasn't enough to fully recover as UCLA finished off the first set 25-22.  

The Warriors maintained a narrow lead for the majority of Set 2. However, the Bruins turned the tables in the final stretch after gaining a 5-1 advantage for set-point, 21-24. With back-to-back kills by Sedore, UH inched back 23-24 but UCLA's Mitch Stahl was able to close the set at 23-25 for the Bruins.

From the start of Set 3, UH hit the ground running with Averill dishing out four-straight kills before the Warriors' 4-1 advantage gave them a commanding 12-8 lead. From there, the 'Bows never looked back and rode a 13-8 run to win it with a double-block by Averill and Kupono Fey (six kills, eight digs, two blocks).

After a rocky start to Set 4 trailing 6-10 behind the Bruins, the 'Bows worked to recover from a four-point deficit and pull ahead 18-15 on a 12-5 run. UCLA inched back with two-straight points to cut into the Warriors' lead by one, 18-17. However, following a kill by Zarkovic and a tip-in by Radner, UH sailed to a 5-2 advantage with Fey's kill ending it 25-19.

UH was unstoppable from start to finish throughout Set 5 with the Bruins hitting at .083 behind 'Bows' .429. The Warriors' set off to a 6-2 lead after three kills in a row by Zarkovic and from there UH was able to keep the Bruins at a manageable distance until the end. Zarkovic added three more kills to follow, his third capping the fifth-set at 15-8 for the win. 

The 'Bows will return to Pauley Pavilion tomorrow night for the series-finale against the Bruins at 7:00 p.m. PT.