HONOLULU – The No. 1-ranked University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team successfully opened the 2020 season with a straight-set win over Charleston, Friday at the Stan Sheriff Center. Set scores were 25-19, 25-16, 25-16.
 
The Rainbow Warriors (1-0) extended their home win streak to 18 matches dating back to 2018 and won their seventh straight season-opener. UH tallied eight aces in the match and hit .450 as a team.
 
Outside hitter Colton Cowell had a match-high 10 kills, hitting .444. Opposite Rado Parapunov added nine kills. A trio of Warriors each had two aces – Patrick Gasman, Filip Humler and James Anastassiades. Gasman was in on three blocks and was a perfect 4-of-4 hitting. 
 
After a slow start, the Warriors hit .513 over the final two sets as setter Jakob Thelle finished with 22 assists while leading a balanced attack.
 
The Golden Eagles (0-1) were led by Max Senica's nine kills. UC hit .246 for the match.
 
UH fell behind 12-9 in Set 1 before rallying for a 16-13 lead after back-to-back aces by Gasman. The lead was 22-18 after Charleston's first hitting error and the Warriors closed out the set by winning six of the final seven points, including Parapunov's fourth kill on set point.
 
Hawai'i led 4-1 in Set 2, then reeled off seven straight points for a 12-3 lead. It was never close as the Warriors hit .467 in the frame with three blocks and three aces. 
 
UH used a 6-1 run for a 10-6 lead during the early part of Set 3. The Warriors strung together four straight for a 21-14 lead that included consecutive kills by freshman Dimitrios Mouchlias. Freshman middle blocker Guilherme Voss ended the match with back-to-back kills.
 
The teams will play again Saturday, Jan. 4. First serve is 7:00 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.