Warriors continue successful road trip

Van Dyne was no problem for van Tilburg.

Hawaii sophomore opposite Stijn van Tilburg had no hitting errors when putting down 10 kills in Van Dyne Gym, helping the fifth-ranked Rainbow Warriors to a road sweep of Cal Baptist on Saturday in Riverside, Calif.

Van Tilburg, errorless on 19 swings, also was in on five of the team’s 11.5 blocks as Hawaii ran its winning streak to seven with a 25-13, 25-17, 25-19 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation volleyball victory over the Lancers. Sophomore hitter Brett Rosenmeier also had 10 kills, turning in his first career double-double with 11 digs in the 80-minute contest.

Hawaii (12-2, 5-2 MPSF) remains on the road for the next four days, leaving for St. Louis today. The Warriors play MIVA teams McKendree (5-10, 1-4) on Tuesday in Lebanon, Ill., and Lindenwood (0-10, 0-6) on Wednesday in St. Charles, Mo.

Hawaii hit .427 for the match to Cal Baptist’s .062. The Warriors won the block war 11.5-6 and had a 32-23 edge in digs.

“Our defense was good all the way around tonight and no question Brett was solid,” Hawaii coach Charlie Wade said. “It was good to see Stijn block like that; he was disappointed in his performances (Friday).

“I thought our subs came in and helped us. Rado (freshman opposite Parapunov) has had two good nights in a row and, on this long road trip, you don’t want to wear guys out.”

The one substitution that Wade didn’t make was to put in freshman hitter Austin Matautia, who has been the starter in 11 of the previous matches. Instead, Rosenmeier made his third start and “he got hot and we left him in,” Wade said. “It’s a league game and you’re not as likely to experiment.”

Wade had been concerned how the team would respond after driving up from San Diego Saturday morning and not getting in a practice at Van Dyne Gym before having to play the Lancers. He need not have worried as the 100-mile drive up the I-15 took longer than the match.

Hawaii broke away early in Set 1, using a 4-0 serving run by senior setter Jennings Franciskovic to take a 16-7 lead. Cal Baptist held off one set point but not a second with it ending on a service error by Luis Palos.

The Warriors hit .522 in the opener and didn’t cool off when opening Set 2 7-1. Hawaii enjoyed leads of 15-6, 20-12 and 24-16, closing it out on a kill by senior middle Hendrik Mol.

The Lancers led for the early part of Set 3 before a kill from senior hitter Kupono Fey tied it at 11, the first of two ties.

At 12-12, Hawaii used a 3-0 spurt to gain separation and the lead for good, getting consecutive kills by van Tilburg, Franciskovic and Rosenmeier. Cal Baptist got to within 18-16 only to have the Warriors run off four straight, a run that included Rosenmeier’s second ace.

The Lancers held off two match points, closing to 24-19, but Fey ended it with his ninth kill.

Junior opposite Kevin Vaz led the Lancers (3-9, 1-7) with eight kills.

Note

On Saturday, McKendree couldn’t pull off the upset of No. 6 Lewis, taking a 2-0 lead against the Flyers only to fall in five. The Bearcats have lost four straight.