HONOLULU — The second-ranked University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team swept No. 18 CSUN (25-20, 25-16, 25-16) Friday night at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center to clinch the Big West regular season title for just the third time in program history. With the victory, the Rainbow Warriors (25-4, 8-1 BWC) secured the No. 1 seed for next week's Big West Championship in Irvine.
The Warriors dominated the match at the net with a 12.5 to 3.5 blocking advantage while holding the Matadors to a season-low .051 hitting percentage. Hawai'i's offense hit .315 as a team and were led by
Kainoa Wade, who got the start at opposite in place of
Kristian Titriyski. The Kailua, O'ahu native led the offensive charge with 10 kills on a .421 hitting percentage and contributed three blocks.
Adrien Roure also reached double figures in points, recording nine kills and two service aces to help keep the Matador defense off balance. After missing the previous match,
Justin Todd returned to the lineup and provided an immediate spark with six kills on a .556 clip and six blocks. Setter
Tread Rosenthal orchestrated the attack with 27 assists and was a wall at the net, tallying seven total blocks.
Louis Sakanoko added five kills, six digs, and a match-high three service aces, while middle blocker
Ofeck Hazan, who also got the start at middle blocker, added two kills and seven blocks.
CSUN (12-13, 0-9 BWC) was paced by Jalen Phillips, who finished as the only Matador in double-digit points with 10 kills. Jordan Lucas contributed six kills and one ace, while Owen Douphner directed the offense with 19 assists and three digs in the loss.
Hawai'i seized control in the opening set with a 6-0 run to build a 9-3 lead. Rosenthal's ace pushed the margin to 15-6, and the lead grew to double digits at 18-8 following a kill and a solo block by Wade. The Warriors recorded five blocks in the frame to secure the 25-20 win.
UH maintained momentum in the second set, jumping out to a 9-5 lead and extending it to 13-7 via a 4-1 run. Behind a blistering .391 hitting percentage and a side-out rate of 82 percent, Hawai'i rolled to a 25-16 victory to take total control of the match.
The third set was highlighted by a 7-1 run that gave the Warriors a 13-5 cushion, sparked by Sakanoko's three service aces.
The two teams conclude the regular season Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.
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