Match Stats
- No. 4 Hawai’i 3, No. 15 Cal State Northridge 1 (25-19, 25-17, 19-25, 25-17)
- Hawai’i moves to 22-4, 12-4 MPSF; Cal State Northridge falls to 12-14, 5-12 MPSF
- Honolulu
- Attendance: 5758
- Box Score
It was home sweet home for the 17th time this season for the No. 4 Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors as they defeated No. 14 Cal State Northridge 3-1 on Saturday to go 17-0 in the friendly confines of the Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Warriors overcame a slow offensive start and a strong challenge from the Matadors in the 25-19, 25-17, 19-25, 25-17 win. The Set 3 loss marked their first dropped stanza since Feb. 4.
Outside hitter Kupono Fey celebrated his senior night by putting down a match-high 16 kills alongside sophomore outside Brett Rosenmeier, who also managed 16 kills on a .560 hitting effort. Senior middle blocker Hendrik Mol added nine kills on a .500 hitting night, while senior setter Jennings Franciskovic put up a team-best five blocks and two aces. Sophomore libero Larry Tuileta pulled up a team-best 11 digs.
Hawai’i won all statistical categories, including hitting percentage (.309 to .220) and blocks (12-10).
For CSUN, junior opposite Arvis Greene put up a team-high 15 kills, while Dimitar Kalchev also added double-digit putaways with 12 and added two aces. Redshirt freshman setter Schylar Lillethorup chipped in eight kills. Sophomore middle blocker Eric Chance recorded four of the Matador’s 10 blocks, while Greene added three.
UH went up 8-3 in Set 1, but CSUN battled back to within one at 8-7. The Rainbow Warriors raised the advantage to seven at 18-11 as Mol turned in a trio of kills. Down 20-12, the Matadors scored seven of the next eight points to cut the margin to two at 21-19. Four Hawai’i hitting miscues and two blocks aided the rally. UH closed out the set on a 4-0 run.
In Set 2, Hawaii went up 10-4 and did not allow Northridge closer than four the rest of the way. The Warriors upped the advantage to seven at 18-11. The teams traded points over the next eight serves, leading to a 22-15 score. UH finished the set with two Rosenmeier kills in the final five points.
Four blocks and an ace helped Northridge to a 10-3 lead in Set 3. Three Lillethorup kills pushed the score to 19-12 in favor of the Matadors. Hawaii pulled within four at 20-16, but couldn’t hold off the CSUN offense in the 25-19 loss.
Fey pounded down kills as Hawaii jumped ahead 16-9 midway through Set 4. A stuff by Frankisovic pushed the lead to eight at 19-11. CSUN scored five of the next eight, including two Greene kills and two blocks, but the Warriors sealed their perfect home record on a Fey kill four serves later.
Press Releases
Courtesy: Hawaii Athletics
HONOLULU – The University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team completed an undefeated regular season home schedule with a four-set win over No. 14 CSUN Saturday in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match at the Stan Sheriff Center. Set scores were 25-19, 25-17, 19-25, 25-17. The Rainbow Warriors (22-4, 12-4 MPSF) finished their home slate with a 17-0 mark to extend their home win streak to 21 matches.
Following the contest, Kupono Fey, Jennings Franciskovic, Hendrik Mol, and Iain McKellar were honored during the traditional Senior Night ceremony that featured a special haka.
Fey shared team-high honors with 16 kills for his eighth double-figure kill match of the season along with six digs and two blocks. Mol ended the night tying his career-high with nine kills and four blocks while Franciskovic dished out 43 assists and had two of the team’s three aces and five blocks. McKellar started his first match of the season and tallied one kill and two blocks.
Sophomore outside hitter Brett Rosenmeier had a career-high 16 kills, hitting .560. As a team, UH hit .309 with 12 blocks and limited the Matadors to .220 hitting.
Avris Greene had a team-high 15 kills for CSUN (12-14, 5-12).
With all four seniors in the starting lineup, UH jumped out to an 8-3 lead in Set 1. The Warriors held leads of 16-9 and 20-12 before the Matadors inched back to within two at 21-19. Hawai’i regrouped to close out the set, scoring the final four points to take the early lead in the match.
Set 2 began much like the first as Hawai’i held early leads of 7-3 and 10-4. The Warriors extended their lead to 18-11 and rolled to the 25-17 victory. UH hit .500 in the set with eight kills by Rosenmeier.
CSUN used four blocks to take a 10-3 lead to start Set 3. The Warriors trailed by as much as seven before closing to within four at 19-15. But the Matadors responded and finished off the set, snapping UH’s 25-set win streak at home dating back to the UC Santa Barbara match on Feb. 4.
After the Matadors scored the first two points of Set 4, the Warriors used an 8-2 run to take a four-point lead. The lead was 15-8 after a Franciskovic solo stuff and back-to-back kills by Fey. The Warriors closed out the match with a 25-17 victory.
The Warriors will wrap up the regular season with a pair of crucial league matches at UCLA, April 7-8 in Los Angeles, Calif. UH needs to win one of the two matches to finish in the top four of the league standings to be able to host an MPSF Tournament quarterfinal match.
Courtesy: Cal State Northridge Athletics
NORTHRIDGE, CA – Arvis Greene had a team-high 15 kills but the 14th-ranked CSUN Matadors dropped the finale of a two match set at Hawai’i as the Rainbow Warriors took a four-set win Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center. Set scores were 25-19, 25-17, 19-25, 25-17 as the Matadors slipped to 12-14 overall and 5-12 in conference play.
Greene had 15 kills on 38 attacks (.237) to go with three digs and three blocks while sophomore Dimitar Kalchev added 12 kills (.286) and a pair of aces. Kalchev pushed his single season aces record to 63.
The hosts hit nearly .300 to CSUN’s .137 as Hawaii claimed the first two sets 25-19, 25-17. Needing to win the third set remain in the match, CSUN took advantage of some timely offense and four Hawaii hitting errors to open up an 8-2 lead. Kalchev’s first ace of the night gave the Matadors a seven point cushion at 10-3. Still leading by seven at 19-12, the Matadors had to withstand a 4-1 Rainbow Warrior run that cut the lead to 20-16. After Kalchev’s kill gave CSUN set point at 24-17, Hawaii saved a pair of set points before a Stijn van Tilburg service error sent the Matadors to the 25-19. It marked the first time an opponent won a set at the Stan Sheriff Center since Feb. 4.
CSUN scored the first two points of set four before an 8-2 Hawaii run put the hosts in control. A Chance kill kept the Matadors within three at 9-6 but CSUN would get no closer and drop the set 25-17 and the match 3-1.
Brett Rosenmeier and Kupono Fey each had 16 kills to lead Hawaii which improved to 22-4 overall and 12-4 in the MPSF.
CSUN concludes the regular season Feb. 8 as the Matadors travel to Long Beach State at 7 p.m.
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