By Alfred Acenas
(EBC Hawaii-Pacific)

HONOLULU (Eagle News) — The US No. 1 ranked University of Hawaii Mānoa Rainbow Warriors men’s volleyball team has completed its first undefeated regular season.

The team finished 15-0 following a straight-set win over the University of California Irvine, Saturday in Honolulu. Set scores were 25-17, 25-18, 25-13.

Following the match, six seniors — James Anastassiades, Colton Cowell, Patrick Gasman, Rado Parapunov, Jackson Van Eekeren and Gage Worsley — were honored during a toned-down but emotional senior night ceremony.

The Rainbow Warriors also finished with a perfect conference season (10-0) for just the third time in school history and the first since 1996.

UH will host next week’s Big West Conference Tournament in Honolulu and will enter as the No. 1 seed with a 16-match win streak.  The men’s team gets a first-round bye into the semifinals where they will play the winner between UC San Diego and California State University Northridge on April 23.

Other contenders from the Big West Conference include UC Santa Barbara (7-3) and Long Beach State University (6-4).

Under the direction of head coach Charlie Wade since 2010, the Rainbow Warriors have made three trips to the NCAA Tournament in the past six years.  The 2020 team was on its way for another shot at the top before the NCAA cancelled the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Eagle News Service)