SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 1-ranked University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team made quick work of No. 3 UC Santa Barbara winning in straight sets Friday at Robertson Gym. Set scores were 25-18, 25-21, 25-20.
The Rainbow Warriors (6-0, 2-0 Big West) showed little mercy, extending their win streak over the Gauchos to eight matches. UH remained perfect on the season and swept the two-match Big West series. The teams will play again on Saturday in a non-conference match-up.
Opposite
Rado Parapunov led all attackers with a match-high 16 kills, hitting .407 with eight digs and one block. The Sofia, Bulgaria native notched seven kills in the final set to put away the Gauchos, including the match-clincher.
Freshman outside hitter
Chaz Galloway got the start and was a perfect 8-for-8 on kills along with four digs and two blocks. Most importantly, he was served a team-high 22 times and did not commit a reception error. In fact, as a team, the Warriors allowed only one ace in the match.
Middle blocker
Patrick Gasman continued his dominance, hitting .889 with eight kills along with a team-high four blocks. He also had two assists.
The Gauchos (4-2) were led by Randy DeWeese's 11 kills. Keenan Sanders added nine kills, hitting .438.
After getting off to a slow start one day earlier, UH quickly got out of the gates with a 9-6 advantage following a Thelle kill. The lead was 14-9 after a
Guilherme Voss-Parapunov double block. The Warrior offense went 10 straight kills without an error and closed out the set hitting .500 as six players had at least two kills.
In Set 2, the Warriors pushed their lead to as many as five at 18-13 following a Gasman-Thelle double-block. The Gauchos got within two but the Warriors scored three of the final four points to secure the set.
Parapunov, Galloway and Gasman went back-to-back-to-back in kills giving UH a 11-8 lead in Set 3. After a UCSB kill, the Warriors then reeled off three more for a 14-9 advantage. The Gauchos trimmed the lead to one after roofing Parapunov. But the Warriors scored five of the next six points capped by an ace by
Brett Sheward that put the game out of reach.
The series concludes on Saturday with a non-conference match beginning at 4:00 p.m. PT at Rob Gym.
#HawaiiMVB
