Rainbow Warriors place third in preseason volleyball ranking
DARRELL MIHO / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
Hawaii’s Larry Tuileta, Brett Rosenmeier and Stijn van Tilburg celebrate a point against the UC Irvine Anteaters during a semifinal match of the Big West Tournament at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, May 20. Hawaii won 3-1.
The Hawaii men’s volleyball program was ranked No. 3 in today’s preseason AVCA Division I-II Top 15, the Rainbow Warriors’ highest ranking since 2005.
Defending national champion Long Beach State was a unanimous No. 1 choice, receiving all 16 first-place votes. UCLA, which lost to the 49ers in the NCAA title match, was at No. 2 with UC Irvine No. 4 and Brigham Young No. 5.
Along with No. 11 Cal State Northridge, five of the Big West’s six teams were ranked.
Hawaii returns nearly its entire starting lineup from the 19-8 squad that finished second in the Big West. Among the returnees are four who earned All-America recognition: senior hitter Stijn van Tilburg (first team), senior setter Joe Worsley (second team), junior opposite Rado Parapunov (honorable mention) and junior middle Patrick Gasman (honorable mention).
The Warriors open the season Jan. 4 and 5 with exhibitions against British Columbia at the Stan Sheriff Center. Hawaii then hosts the Hawaiian Airlines Classic, Jan. 10-12, with USC, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Concordia-Irvine.
