MATCH STATS
- #5 Hawaii Def. #2 UCLA 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-19)
- #5 Hawaii 7-0; #2 UCLA 7-1
- Honolulu, Hawaii (Stan Sheriff Center)
- Box score
HONOLULU – In a match-up between two undefeated teams, Hawaii came out on top in a four set victory on Friday night in the Stan Sheriff Center.
The Rainbow Warriors led in points (65) , kills (49), assists (45), and digs (43), but were out-aced 8-7 and out-blocked 13-9. Hawaii has now won 26 straight matches at home and defeated the Bruins 10 times since 2013.
Hawaii was led by Rado Parapunov with 15 kills for a .250 hitting percentage. Two others posted double-figure kills in Stijn Van Tilburg (.156) and Brett Rosenmeier (.143), with 13 and 10, respectively. They were fueled by setter Joe Worsley, who tabbed 36 assists, four blocks, and 14 digs for a double-double.
Leading the UCLA offense was middle blocker, Daenan Gyimah, with 9 kills on a .438 clip. Dylan Missry also had an impressive offensive performance with eight kills an done error for a .368 hitting percentage. Setter Micah Ma’a ran the offense with 37 assists.
The two teams will face each other one more time in Honolulu on Sunday.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of Hawaii Athletics
HONOLULU – The University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team pulled out a heart-stomping four-set win over nemesis No. 2 UCLA Friday in front of a raucous crowd of 4,748 at the Stan Sheriff Center. Set scores were 23-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-19.
The third-ranked Rainbow Warriors (7-0) came out victorious in a match-up of two unbeaten teams and former Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rivals. UH extended its home win streak to 26 matches and defeated the Bruins for the 10th time dating back to 2013.
The teams play again Sunday at 5:00 p.m.
Opposite Rado Parapunov led the way for the Warriors with 15 kills and career-highs of three aces and seven digs. Outside hitters Stijn van Tilburg and Brett Rosenmeier added 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Rosenmeier added two aces.
UH was clutch down the stretch scoring the final four points of Set 2 to even the match at 1-1 and tallying the final five points of Set 4.
Daenan Gyimah led the Bruins (7-1) with nine kills while Honolulu-native Micah Ma’a added 37 assists, four aces, and three blocks.
In a tight first set, the Bruins took the advantage at 18-15 and held set point at 24-21. The Warriors responded with back-to-back kills by Patrick Gasman and Rosenmeier but after a UCLA timeout, the Bruins put an end to the set with a Christian Hessenauer kill. Parapunov had five kills and UH out-hit UCLA .308 to .281.
In Set 2, Hawai’i took the lead at the media timeout at 15-13 with aces by Parapunov and Rosenmeier. The Bruins answered back and used a 5-1 run to retake the lead at 21-19. With UCLA leading 23-21, the Warriors scored the final four points including a Parapunov overpass kill on set point.
Hawai’i used its timely serving again to start Set 3 with aces by Parapunov and van Tilburg to build a 10-4 lead. The lead was eight at 19-11 before the Bruins went on a 9-3 run to close to two. But a kill by Parapunov and an ace by Rosenmeier gave UH set point. UCLA did not go away, erasing three set points before van Tilburg ended it with his 10th kill.
UH jumped out to an 11-7 lead in Set 4 with a pair of Rosenmeier kills. The Bruins tied it at 15 and trailed 20-19 after stuffing van Tilburg. From there it was all UH as van Tilburg and Parapunov scored back-to-back points. After a UCLA timeout, its next attempt went long and van Tilburg and Gasman followed with a double-block giving UH match-point. Gasman teamed with Parapunov to stuff Jake Arnitz to close out the match.
Courtesy of UCLA Athletics
The No. 2-ranked UCLA men’s volleyball team (7-1) dropped its first match of the season to No.3-ranked Hawai’i (7-0) in a non-league match played in Honolulu on Friday night. Scores of the contest were 25-23, 23-25, 23-25, 19-25 as Hawai’i won its 26th straight home match. The Bruins hit a season-low .209 on the night and had 23 service errors. UCLA managed to win the blocking battle 13.5 to 9.0, but lost the digs count 24-43. The teams play again on Sunday night at 7 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. HT.
The score was tied at each point, one thru twelve, in set one. UCLA took a 13-12 lead after a UH service ace and made it 14-12 after a kill by Micah Ma’a. Hawai’i closed to 16-15 before a pair of Daenan Gyimah kills lifted the Bruins into an 18-15 edge. After a UH timeout, Ma’a continued the run with a service ace and Christian Hessenauer teamed with Gyimah on a block to make it 20-15. Hawai’i rallied to close the margin to two at 23-21 and then pulled within one at 24-23 on a kill. The Bruins took the set on a Hessenauer swing for a 25-23 win. JT Hatch, Gyimah and Hessenauer each had three kills in the set.
UCLA jumped to a 2-0 lead to begin set two. The score was then even at points two thru six. However, the ‘Bows scored the next two for a 6-8 lead. The Bruins came back to tie the score at nine on an ace by Hatch. Hawai’i tallied three straight to break a 13-all tie. UCLA battled back to even things up at 18-all on a kill by Hatch and took a 20-19 lead after an ace from Ma’a. A block by Hessenauer and Gyimah made it 21-19 Bruins. UH scored the next two points to knot the score again. A Gyimah kill and a Hessenauer block put the Bruins back up 23-21. A service error and an attack error leveled the score at 23-each. After a UCLA hitting error, UH tipped over a shot off the block for the 23-25 win. UCLA hit .400 for the set, but had seven service errors.
In set three, Hawai’i stormed out to a 4-11 lead. UCLA cut the margin to 7-12 on a block by Missry and Gyimah, but the home team built the margin back up to 11-19. Ma’a helped serve the Bruins back into the set as UCLA ran off four straight points to close to within 20-22 on an ace. Hawai’i answered with the next two points and the Bruins fought off three set points on a Hessenauer kill, a Rainbow Warrior error and a Missry ace to make it 23-24. UH finished the set off with a kill for a 23-25 win. UCLA hit .077 for the set.
Hawai’i opened up a 3-6 lead to begin set four and moved out to a 7-11 margin forcing a UCLA timeout. The Bruins worked back to get within one, at 11-12, after a block by Jake Arnitz and Gyimah. A kill by Missry tied the score at 15-all, but the Bruins could not gain the lead. UCLA got as close as one at 15-16, 16-17, 17-18, 18-19 and 19-20, but Hawai’i ended the match on a roll for a 19-25 win.
Gyimah finished with nine kills and a career-best nine block assists while hitting .438. Missry had eight kills and hit .368. Ma’a totaled three kills, 5 digs and tied his season best with four aces.
Leave a Reply