Box Score

HONOLULU – For the second consecutive night, the University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team made quick work of Hope International, 30-17, 30-23, 30-26, Saturday in a non-conference match at the Stan Sheriff Center. The No. 9 Warriors (8-5) swept both matches in the series against the NAIA's third-ranked team.

 

Following the match, the inaugural “Volley Ka Pila” concert took place which featured the band Why Bother. Redshirt setter Kala'e Camarillo is a member of the band, which put on a 75-minute performance.

 

Leading the Warriors for the second straight night was Jonas Umlauft, who tallied a match-high 18 kills. Middle blocker Matthew Rawson had a match-high seven blocks along with six kills while Joshua Walker added 15 kills and 10 digs for his third career double-double.

 

UH's big frontline, which recorded 16.5 blocks, limited Hope (5-5) to .038 hitting percentage.

 

The Warriors broke open a narrow 8-7 lead in Set 1 with an 8-1 run, helped by three straight Royal hitting errors. UH extended its lead to 22-10 after a 6-1 spurt, which included a pair of kills each by Walker and Umlauft. Hawai'i cruised the rest of the way for a 30-17 victory.

 

The Royals put a scare into Hawai'i in Set 2, leading for the first half of the game. HIU jumped out to a 6-3 lead and led by four on three separate occasions. The Warriors finally caught them at 13 during a five-point run which ended with an Umlauft service ace for a 16-13 lead. Trailing 23-17, the Royals stuffed Steven Hunt and Walker on consecutive plays to pull within three but that would be as close as they would get.

 

In the third and final set, the Royals scored three straight to take a 9-7 lead. The Warriors rallied back and got some cushion at 19-15 with a kill and ace by Zemljak and an Umlauft kill. The Warriors pushed their lead to 26-18 before the Royals mounted a mini-comeback to within 28-25 but UH closed out the game with kills by Walker and setter Nejc Zemljak.

 

The Warriors return to Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action next week with a two-match series against Brigham Young, Friday, Feb. 26 and Saturday, Feb. 27. Friday's match will be played at the Stan Sheriff Center while Saturday's match will take place at Maui's War Memorial Gym in Wailuku at 5:00 p.m.