SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team bounced back from a blowout loss in the first set for a four-set victory over No. 3 UC Santa Barbara Thursday at Robertson Gym. Set scores were 16-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-20.
The top-ranked Rainbow Warriors (5-0, 1-0 Big West) remained perfect on the season and were victorious in their Big West Conference opener. After rebounding from the first set loss, UH showed signs of its dominance recording a season-high 14.5 blocks. Hawai'i's 44 digs were also a season-high and five Warriors had seven or more digs.
Opposite
Rado Parapunov had a team-high 16 kills, hitting .419 with 11 digs and seven blocks for his fourth career double-double. Middle blocker
Patrick Gasman felll one block shy of a double-double, posting career-highs of 14 kills and nine blocks while hitting at a .571 clip. The duo committed only five hitting errors in 52 attempts while combining for 30 kills and 16 blocks.
Middle blocker
Guilherme Voss and outside hitter
Colton Cowell added seven kills apiece while setter
Jakob Thelle directed an offense that hit .322, including .395 in the final three sets.
The Gauchos (4-1) were led by Randy DeWeese, who had a match-high 21 kills while Roy McFarland added 15 kills.
The Gauchos stormed out of the gates in Set 1, scoring five straight including three kills by McFarland for an 11-6 lead. A six-point run made it 16-9 and the Warriors would not threaten the rest of the way. UH hit .103 in the set while McFarland had seven kills for the Gauchos.
The Warriors rebound in Set 2 and used a 6-2 run, capped by a Gasman-Parapunov double block for an 18-12 lead. The teams traded side-outs until Parapunov and Cowell hitting errors – UH's first two of the set – brought the Gauchos to within three at 21-18. But the Warriors closed out the set with a kill by Cowell and yet another Gasman-Parapunov double block.
UH scored the first four points of Set 3 but the Gauchos quickly responded with five of their own. From there, the team traded blow for blow for the better part of the set until back-to-back kills by Cowell and Parapunov gave UH a 20-17 lead. After a few more sideouts, a Gaucho hitting error followed by Gasman's 10
th kill ended it.
Set 4 was another battle until a double block gave UH a 13-11 lead. But the Gauchos answered right back with five straight to retake the lead. The Warriors responded with four more of their own, capped by a Voss-
Chaz Galloway double block to tie it at 16. Moments later, Voss and Parapunov added consecutive kills for a 19-17 lead. With a 22-20 advantage, the Warriors closed out the match with a kill by Thelle, Parapunov-Gasman double block, and Cowell kill.
UH extended its win streak over UCSB to seven matches. The teams meet again Friday at 4:00 p.m. PT at Rob Gym.
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