NASHVILLE, Ten. – The fourth-ranked University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team completed a rare doubleheader sweep with a straight-set win over Lincoln Memorial Sunday at Lipscomb's Allen Arena. Set scores were 25-18, 25-13, 25-15.
Coupled with a three-set win over No. 13 Grand Canyon earlier in the day, the Rainbow Warriors (6-0) finished 3-0 in the tournament. UH and LMU were scheduled to meet on Friday, however, the match was postponed due to inclement weather, forcing the Warriors to play two matches on Sunday.
The Warriors used its bench throughout the match with opposite
Brandon Rattray and outside hitter
Colton Cowell making their first career starts. Rattray finished with a career-high 14 kills along with eight digs and four blocks and Cowell posted 11 kills, four digs, and two aces in their most extensive playing time at UH.
Junior
Mamane Namahoe got the start at libero and finished with five digs. Freshman
Jackson Van Eekeren had 18 assists, two aces, and three blocks and
Larry Tuileta switched from his usual libero spot to outside hitter and had four kills.
Evan Cory had a team-high 11 kills for LMU (0-2).
UH raced out to an 8-3 lead in Set 1 and made it 12-5 during a 5-1 run that included Rattray's fifth ace of the season. Rattray finished the set with six kills without an error and helped UH to a .522 hitting clip.
With the Warriors jumping out to a quick start in Set 2, head coach
Charlie Wade emptied his bench with Van Eekeren and
Matt Larson entering the lineup. UH did not skip a beat hitting .423 for the set.
UH used a 6-1 run to break open Set 3. Aces by Larson and Cowell helped the Warriors take a 15-9 lead. Hawai'i finished the set with four blocks and three aces
The Warriors take next week off before hosting a pair of non-conference matches against No. 3 UCLA, Jan. 26 & 28 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
#HawaiiMVB