Sophomore hitter Siki Zarkovic put down 12 kills and junior middle Taylor Averill finished with 11 kills and 12 blocks as No. 11 Hawaii overcame a slow start to defeat unranked Cal Baptist 22-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-10 in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation volleyball match Wednesday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Senior hitter Jace Olsen added 11 kills and sophomore libero Kolby Kanetake had a match-high 11 digs for the Rainbow Warriors (8-4, 6-3 MPSF) in the 2-hour contest. Junior opposite Brook Sedore added nine kills and two aces as Hawaii won its third straight.
Junior hitter Johannes Brink had a match-high 14 kills for the Lancers (3-8, 2-7) and senior middle Kristopher Johnson added 12.
The teams meet again at 7 p.m. Friday. Hawaii remained in a tie for fourth place in the MPSF, along with UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State at 6-3. Both the Gauchos and the 49ers won Wednesday night, UCSB in a home sweep of No. 13 Cal State Northridge and No. 6 Long Beach State in a four-set upset at No. 2 UCLA.
The Rainbow Warriors outblocked the Lancers 17-5. The 12 total blocks and 11 block assists were both career highs for Averill; he had eight total blocks — all block assists — in last month’s 3-2 loss at UC Santa Barbara.