NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The top-ranked University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team chalked up another win after a four-set victory over CSUN, Friday in a Big West Conference match-up at The Matadome. Set scores were 25-17, 25-20, 23-25, 25-19.
The Rainbow Warriors (12-0, 7-0 BWC) remained perfect on the year and clinched at least a share of the Big West regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. UH extended its school-record road win streak to 14 matches and also won their 13
th consecutive dating back to last season, which is the longest current streak in the NCAA.
Opposite
Rado Parapunov tied Pono Ma'a for No. 11 on the school's all-time kills list with a match-high 17 on Friday. The Sofia, Bulgaria native also added a team-high eight digs and four digs. Outside hitter
Colton Cowell hit .440 in his return to the lineup after sitting out UH's last match due to injury. The Makawao, Maui native had 13 kills and six digs.
Middle blockers
Patrick Gasman and
Guilherme Voss combined for 16 kills and 13 blocks. Gasman hit .571 with nine kills in 14 attempts along with five stuffs while Voss tallied a career-high eight blocks to go along with a perfect 7-for-7 in kill attempts.
As a team, the Warriors hit .429 for the match by virtue of near-flawless attack percentages in Sets 2 and 4 in which they combined for a .652 clip. The nation's leading blocking team also racked up 14 team blocks and held CSUN to .221 hitting.
The Matadors (1-6, 1-6 BW) were led by middle blocker Daniel Wetter's 14 kills. Maciej Ptasynski added 10 kills.
In Set 1, the Warriors reeled off four straight points for a 10-6 lead. An ace and kill by Voss on consecutive plays put UH ahead 13-7. The lead ballooned to 10 after a five-point run that included a Gasman ace and a Voss-
Chaz Galloway double block.
The teams traded points for the first half of Set 2 until Gasman made his presence known with back-to-back solo blocks for a 14-11 lead. The Matadors tied it at 15 but the Warriors answered right back with three straight. The teams traded side-outs until UH scored on consecutive plays off kills by Galloway and Cowell for a 23-19 lead and another Galloway kill closed out the set.
After an ace by Gasman, UH led 16-12 in Set 3 and seemingly in control of the match. But the Matadors strung together six straight points, including five consecutive UH attack errors to take the lead. CSUN led 21-18 after an ace by Ptasynski and held off a Warrior rally to extend the match.
UH jumped out to a 9-6 lead in Set 4 with a 4-1 run. The lead was 14-9 after a Galloway overpass kill and Parapunov-Gasman block. A solo block by Voss solo made it 18-12 and the Warriors closed out the match with Parapunov's 17
th kill.
The teams play again on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. HT at The Matadome.
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