Parapunov, G. Worsley, Homayun-Scoles honored; Men No. 2, SandBows to No. 6
Rado Parapunov repeated as Big West Player of Week, while Gage Worsley earned defensive player of the week on Monday.
Per the Big West: For the second straight week and the fourth time in his career, Hawaii junior Rado Parapunov notched the Big West Men’s Volleyball Player of the Week award after leading the Warriors to the Outrigger Resorts Invitational title.
The 6-foot-9 opposite averaged 4.75 kills per set and hit .554 (38-7-56) as UH extended its season-opening win streak to 15 and set win streak to 45 – both school record runs. Named the tournament’s MVP, his 38 kills was a tournament-high.
Parapunov hit .500 or better in every match in sweeps of King, #15 Ball State and #6 Pepperdine. In the championship match against the Waves, Parapunov swung at a .526 clip with 13 kills (13-3-19) to go along with three aces, four digs and three blocks.
The Bulgarian national had a match-high 19 kills on .571 hitting against Ball State. He hit .556 (6-1-9) in two sets against King.
Gage Worsley turned in a stellar performance from the back row for his second Big West Men’s Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week honor this season.
The 6-foot-1 sophomore helped Hawaii win its ninth Outrigger Resorts Invitational title with 34 digs over three matches for a 3.78 per set average.
Selected to the all-tournament team, the libero posted two double-figure dig matches including a career-high 15 in the title match versus No. 6 Pepperdine. He did not post a reception error in 58 total reception attempts for the tournament, including a perfect 24-for-24 against Pepperdine.
The complete release is here.
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As for the SandBows, Ari Homayun and Julia Scoles claimed the Big West Pairs Team of the Week for the second time this year after going a perfect 4-0 in the East Meets West Invitational this past weekend.
All four of their wins came over ranked opponents including three top 10 teams in No 4 Florida State, No. 6 LSU, and No. 9 Florida International. The SandBows’ No. 3 pair scored the clinching point in wins over No. 19 TCU and No. 9 FIU.
The pair also earned an impressive straight-set victory in UH’s near-upset of No. 4 Florida State on Saturday. The duo owns a team-best record of 7-1 on the season, with its lone loss coming against the No. 3 pair of top-ranked UCLA.
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Hawaii remained a unanimous No. 2 in the AVCA Division I-II Men’s Top 15 volleyball poll for a second consecutive week.
The Rainbow Warriors (15-0) extended their program-best start with their 15th consecutive victory as well as their NCAA record for sets-won to 45 last week. Hawaii remained behind unanimous No. 1 Long Beach State (17-0), the defending national champion receiving all 16 first-place votes.
UC Irvine’s split last week at Brigham Young had the Anteaters (14-5) dropping to No. 5 and had UC Santa Barbara (15-3) and UCLA (16-4) moving up a spot, the Gauchos to No. 3 and the Bruins to No. 4.
Hawaii’s next opponent, Cal State Northridge (10-8), stayed at No. 12. The Warriors and Matadors meet in 7 p.m. matches Friday and Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center.
#AVCA Top-15 (March. 11):
1. Long Beach State
2. Hawai'i
3. UC Santa Barbara
4. UCLA
5. UC Irvine
6. Pepperdine
7. Lewis
8. Stanford
9. BYU
10. Southern California
11. Loyola-Chicago
12. CSUN
13. Purdue Fort Wayne
14. George Mason
15. Ball State— AVCA (@AVCAVolleyball) March 11, 2019
For the complete poll click here.
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Also today, Hawaii dropped a spot to No. 6 in the beach volleyball poll
Beach Poll (March 11):
1. UCLA
2. Southern Calif
3. Florida St
4. LSU
5. Pepp
6. Hawai’i
7. Cal Poly
8. FIU
9. Long Beach St
10. South Carolina
11. Cal
12. Stetson
13. Loyola Marymount
14. Stanford
15. Arizona
16. FAU
17. Grand Canyon
18. Georgia St
19. Saint Mary’s
20. TCU
— AVCA (@AVCAVolleyball) March 11, 2019
For the complete poll click here.
Congrats to Stijn and Gage on their OTB National Position POW awards!
And congrats to Rado Parapunov for making consecutive Big West Player of the week this week and Gage Worsley for making Big West Defensive Player of the Week. Too bad the whole team couldn’t be recognized. They all played awesome at the Outrigger Tournament. Also, congrats for making the NCAA Men’s Volleyball record for consecutive sets won at 45, though it’s less important to them than to keep winning matches. May they live up to tougher challenges ahead. Keep up the amazing work!
1-2. Thanks . Was unable to update until now.
Hey Cindy do we have any prospects for one of the middle blocker positions next year since solbrig will be gone? Rosenfeld played a few times but hasn’t impressed me, kind of hoping wade has someone more impactful next to gasmen.
https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2019/March/12/US-Women-Invite-17-to-Spring-Training-Block?fbclid=IwAR0XLposVPoHzBsIKX9oso87PbiWHQLKinSxFTm1ctAzFTjOxJ0LK__AVHw
Tita may make some International rosters this summer. Good for her!
Anyone know when the Big West tournament tickets go on sale? I hope season ticket holders get first dibs (and can keep their seats).
Cindy, as per your comment that Maglio is not the player she was last year. Totally disagree. She played well at Manhattan Beach this weekend. She didn’t have a good tournament at Queen’s but when you and your partner aren’t clicking everything goes bad in a beach volleyball partnership. Hard to gauge from one tournament. I hear she is doing well at practices and she is hitting a heavier ball than in previous years. That partnership is just not there. Hope Hall makes changes.
Cindy, do you know when we can expect to how Tita did at tryouts?
7. just my opinion from what II saw at the Queen’s event. I didn’t see the pop she had in previous years among other things.
Everyone is doing well at practice. Which is why Hall keeps saying he wants them to play like they practice.
Not seeing a change at the top 3 pairs in terms of partnerships.
8. see new thread on Akiu or you could read link from No.
5
http://www.hawaiiwarriorworld.com/?p=49111