LA JOLLA, Calif. – The second-ranked University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team used its big block to sweep No. 11 UC San Diego Wednesday in the first of two non-conference matches at RIMAC Center. Set scores were 25-20, 25-23, 25-18.
The Rainbow Warriors (3-0) made it a perfect 3-for-3 on their four-match road trip and go for the sweep in the rematch with the Tritons (0-1) Thursday night. First serve is 7:00 p.m. PT (5:00 p.m. HT) at RIMAC Center.
Fresh off winning both the AVCA and Big West Player of the Week award a day earlier, senior opposite
Rado Parapunov led the way with 12 kills, hitting .550 with nine blocks, one off his career high. The Bulgaria native also added two aces.
As a team, the Warriors posted 11 team blocks, including six in the third set. Middle blocker
Patrick Gasman added six blocks while fellow middle
Alaka'i Todd and
Guilherme Voss each added two apiece. Outside hitter
Colton Cowell posted 11 kills, four digs, and one ace.
The Tritons, who were making their 2021 season debut, were led by Kyle McCauley's 10 kills while Logan Clark added eight kills, hitting .800 with two blocks.
In Set 1, UH scored four straight points, which included an ace by setter
Jakob Thelle for an 11-8 lead. Moments later, Parapunov stuffed McCauley one-on-one to push the lead to four. The lead was 20-15 after back-to-back kills by Gasman and the Warriors sided-out to victory. UCSD committed eight service errors in the frame and UH hit .800 with no errors in 15 attempts.
The Tritons took an early lead in Set 2 but Hawai'i answered back for a 15-13 advantage at the media timeout after kill and block by Parapunov. UCSD tied it at 18 and the teams traded side-outs until a Triton miscue followed by a Parapunov kill gave UH a two-point cushion. Just like the first set, freshman
Spyros Chakas put away the set winner to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead in the match. Parapunov finished with seven kills in the game.
UH opened up a 9-4 lead to start Set 3 before the Tritons closed to within two after a pair of Hawai'i hitting errors. But a 7-1 run gave the Warriors a 15-9 lead and the lead ballooned to nine. All told, UH finished with six blocks in the set to close out the sweep.
Following Thursday's match, teams are scheduled to meet in Big West play for another two-match series March 26-27 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
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