HONOLULU –  The fourth-ranked University of Hawaiʻi men's volleyball team secured a 3-0 victory over visiting USC in Saturday night's Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Warrior Classic Championship match at the Stan Sheriff Center. The victory, with set scores of 25-12, 25-23, 25-16, moves the Rainbow Warriors to 3-0 on the season.
 
The tournament's Most Outstanding Player Joe Worsley dished out 34 assists on the night to facilitate the offense, while All-Tournament Team members Rado Parapunov and Stijn van Tilburg tallied 16 and 15 kills, respectively. The UH win helps the 'Bows improve to 45-37 in the all-time series with the Trojans.  
 
USC (2-1), which hit .207 for the night, was led by 10 kills from Gianluca Grasso.
 
The Rainbow Warriors made quick work of the Trojans in Set 1, cruising to a 25-12 set win for the early advantage. Behind five kills apiece from van Tilburg and Parapunov in the first, the 'Bows scored 10 of the set's final 12 points.
 
A back-and-forth Set 2 featured six ties and two lead changes. Colton Cowell's kill after a long rally made it 24-22 in favor of UH, and later in the set a USC service error gave the home side a narrow 25-23 win to take a commanding 2-0 advantage.
 
Hawaiʻi was efficient in Set 3, hitting .500 highlighted by five kills from Parapunov. Clinging to a four-point lead at 16-12, the 'Bows reeled off seven-consecutive points to gain the momentum. Worsley finished with nine assists in the third to help UH secure the sweep.
 
Gage Worsley registered a match-high 12 digs on the night with his brother Joe Worsley adding seven. As a team, UH hit .456 and picked up five aces.
 
Next on the schedule for UH is the Alumni Match on Jan. 25 at the Stan Sheriff Center followed by back-to-back regular season home matches versus Stanford on Feb. 1 and Feb. 3.
 
Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Warrior Classic All-Tournament Team
Addison Enrique – Concordia-Irvine
Ryan Moss – USC
Gianluca Grasso – USC
Enrique de Diego Garcia – NJIT
Stijn van Tilburg – Hawaiʻi
Rado Parapunov – Hawaiʻi
Tournament Most Outstanding Player - Joe Worsley – Hawaiʻi