Match Notes

HONOLULU – The No. 9 University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team begins a five-week homestand with a two-match Mountain Pacific Sports Federation series against defending national champion No. 7 UC Irvine, Friday, Jan. 29 and Saturday, Jan. 30. First serve for both matches is 7:00 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.

 

The Warriors (4-3, 2-2 MPSF) are coming off a split of their recent road trip to Stanford and Pacific. UH dropped both matches to the Cardinal to start the trip and rebounded with a sweep of the Tigers. In the homecoming for head coach Charlie Wade - a former UOP women's head coach - the Warriors rallied for a four-set victory in the opening match while holding off two-set points in Set 2 to fall behind two games to none. UH cruised to a straight-set victory in the rematch.

 

Opposite Jonas Umlauft averaged 5.14 kills per set in the series, with a season-best 21 kills on the opening night. Outside hitter Joshua Walker averaged 4.00 kills per set while Steven Hunt provided a spark off the bench in the first match and earned his first start of the season the next night.

 

UC Irvine (5-4, 1-3) has dropped its last three league matches against USC, Cal State Northridge, and UC Santa Barbara. On Tuesday, the Anteaters defeated Princeton in three sets, 30-26, 30-16, 30-22. Outside hitter Carson Clark leads the team with a 5.23 kill average while Jordan DeFault is hitting 40.4 percent with a 4.28 average.
 

Hawai'i leads the all-time series over UC Irvine, 27-10. The Anteaters swept the season series last year in Irvine, Calif., winning both matches in straight sets.

 

Who: No. 9 Hawai'i (4-3, 2-2 MPSF) vs. No. 7 UC Irvine (5-4, 1-3 MPSF)

When: Friday, Jan. 29 and Saturday, Jan. 30

Time: 7:00 p.m. both nights

Where: Stan Sheriff Center - Honolulu, HI

Television Coverage: KFVE-TV (Ch. 5) will televise both matches live with Jim Leahey (play-by-play) and Stein Metzger (color). Rebroadcast at 10:30 p.m. each night.

Video Streaming: Available at uhstreaming.oceanic.com

Radio Coverage: ESPN 1420 AM is broadcasting both matches live with Scott Robbs calling the action.

Audio Webcast: Available at espn1420am.com

Live Stats: Available at HawaiiAthletics.com
Promotions: Chevron, the match sponsor on Friday, will distributed 250 “Victor E. Vans” at Gate A beginning at 6:00 p.m. and provide markers and posters, so fans can create their own rally signs. Chevron will also award $700 in gas gift cards during the promotional activity at intermission. Bud Light is the game sponsor on Saturday and fans are reminded to register at the sports marketing table for the chance to compete for great prizes between games 2 and 3.

Tickets: Lower-level $11; Upper-level adult $8, Upper-level senior citizen $7; Upper-level youth (high school and under) and UH student $3; Lower-level UH Student $5.

Series Information: UH leads 27-10.

Series vs. UCI: UH leads the all-time series 27-10, however, UCI has won seven of the last nine matches since 2006. UH won the first 17 matches in the series but the teams have split the next 20 meetings. In their last three trips Honolulu (2004, '06, '08), the Anteaters have split the two-match series at the Stan Sheriff Center.