HONOLULU – The No. 1 University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team faced its stiffest test of the season and pulled out a four-set win over No. 7 Long Beach State in the first of two Big West Conference match-ups at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Set scores were 23-25, 25-14, 25-13, 26-24.
 
The teams play again on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
 
The Rainbow Warriors (10-0, 5-0 BW) remained perfect on the year and extended their conference home win streak to 10 in a nail biter of a finish. After dropping the first set and cruising to blowout wins in Sets 2 and 3, UH was pushed to the limit in Set 4 and needed three match points to put away the Beach and avenge its loss in the 2019 NCAA Championship match.
 
Opposite Rado Parapunov, who moved into 13^th place all-time in school's career kills list, finished with a match-high 17 kills although hitting only .116 with 12 hitting errors. The Bulgaria native also added two aces, seven digs, and three blocks.
 
Outside hitter Colton Cowell tallied 14 kills to go along with a career-high eight blocks and shared team-high honors with middle blocker Pat Gasman, who also posted eight blocks along with five kills and two aces. The Clovis, Calif., native moved into third place all-time in total blocks and now has 441 for his career. 
 
The Beach (3-2, 3-2 BW) was led by Spencer Olivier's 14 kills and five blocks. 
 
After recording only two team blocks through the first two sets, Hawai'i's frontline came alive recording 13.5 in the final two frames to finish with a season-high 15.5 stuffs. UH held the Beach to .072 hitting for the match. The Warriors hit at a .265 clip themselves on an off-hitting night but also recorded six aces.
 
In Set 1, UH held an 18-13 lead before the Beach rallied. A Simon Anderson ace pulled LBSU to within one and Parapunov hit wide to tie the score. The Beach took the lead after a Galloway hitting error and went on to grab the win with another Anderson kill. LBSU out-scored Hawai'i 12-5 to steal the set.
 
The Warriors took control of Set 2 with a 7-1 run – which included three kills and block by Parapunov – for a 14-8 lead. UH then closed out the set with an 8-2 run to even the match at 1-1.
 
UH stormed out of the gates in Set 3 for an 8-3 advantage. The lead reached double figures at 17-7 after a Gasman solo block. UH finished with six blocks in the set to take control of the match.
 
But the Beach wasn't done, jumping out to a 14-11 lead with the help of a pair of blocks. UH tied it at 15 and seesawed into the lead until Beach tied it at 20. Back to back blocks by Gasman-Cowell made it 22-20. UH had two match points at 24-22 but a service error and Parapunov hitting error tied it up. On the next play, Chaz Galloway and Max Rosenfeld teamed up to block Clarke Godbold and Parapunov ended it with his 17^th kill.