ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – The No. 1 University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team rallied past 5^th-ranked Lewis in four sets Friday in marquee early season match-up at Neil Carey Arena. Set scores were 20-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-23
 
In the first ever meeting in Romeoville, Ill., and a rematch of last year's NCAA Championship semifinal, the Rainbow Warriors (6-0) remained perfect on the year with the help of their All-American opposite and a pair of reserve freshmen. 
 
Playing without kill leader Colton Cowell, opposite Rado Parapunov picked up the load with a match-high 22 kills along with 10 digs, four aces, and four blocks. It marked the senior's second career double-double and eighth 20-kill match.
 
True freshman Chaz Galloway came off the bench in the first set and added eight kills, hitting .368 with five digs and three blocks. Redshirt freshman setter Brett Sheward entered in the third set to run the offense and dished out 18 assists while leading the Warriors to .414 hitting in the decisive fourth set.
 
Middle blocker Patrick Gasman had a career-high four aces to go along with seven kills (.429) and six blocks. Libero Gage Worsley tallied a match-high 13 digs.
 
As a team, UH hit for a season-low .248 clip but finished with season-bests of 13 blocks and nine aces. Lewis (3-2) hit .193 for the match and tallied 15.5 blocks and nine aces. Ryan Coenen had 12 kills to lead the way for the Flyers.
 
The Flyers handed the Warriors their first set loss of the season in the opening frame before UH rallied back to take Set 2, withstanding a late Lewis comeback. In Set 3, the Flyers used runs of 7-0 and 6-0 for a 19-12 lead before the Warriors stormed back. UH used a 5-1 run to close within 20-17, then took a 24-23 lead after scoring five unanswered. Parapunov hit into the net on set point but after a Lewis service error, the Sofia, Bulgaria native teamed with Max Rosenfeld to block Coenen to give the Warriors the advantage in the match.  
 
In Set 4, Gasman served his third and fourth aces for a 10-7 lead. The Warriors held on small cushion before the Flyers trimmed the deficit to one at 22-21. After the teams traded service errors, Gasman ended the match with back-to-back kills.
 
The Warriors continue their four-match road trip with a non-conference match-up at Loyola, Saturday, Jan. 18. First serve is 3:00 p.m. HT at Gentile Arena in Chicago, Ill.