No. 6 University of Hawaii men’s volleyball hands No. 1 Long Beach State its first loss
Sophomore hitter Rado Parapunov put down 19 kills, including the match-ender, and No. 6 Hawaii upset No. 1 Long Beach State tonight, 25-21, 22-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-11, in the final regular-season volleyball match at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Junior hitter Stijn van Tilburg added 17 kills and senior libero Tui Tuileta 15 digs for the Rainbow Warriors (18-7, 6-4). The victory gives Hawaii the second seed and a quarterfinal bye in next week’s Big West tournament at Long Beach State.
On Friday, the Warriors will face the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal between third-seeded UC Irvine and sixth-seeded UC San Diego. The 49ers (24-1, 9-1), the top seeds, take on the Thursday’s winner between No. 4 seed Cal State Northridge and No. 5 seed UC Santa Barbara.
Junior hitter TJ DeFalco put down a season-high 25 kills and junior opposite Kyle Ensing, notching his 1,000th career kill during Set 4, added 14.
The win snapped a six-match losing streak for Hawaii against Long Beach State. The match lasted 2 hours and 59 minutes and was watched by 4,832.
The Warriors have won on their past five senior nights.