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Siki Zarkovic tied his career high with 22 kills and No. 10 Hawaii stunned No. 2 Brigham Young for a second consecutive night, sweeping the Cougars 37-35, 25-20, 25-19 in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation volleyball match Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
It was the first time since 2010 that the Rainbow Warriors (15-10, 13-9) had taken the series from the Cougars (18-6, 18-4). On Friday, Hawaii won in five, snapping a seven-match losing streak to BYU also dating to 2010.
The victory moves Hawaii into a three-way tie for sixth place with UCLA and Long Beach State in the MPSF standings. The top eight teams make the MPSF tournament.
Brook Sedore added 11 kills and Taylor Averill was in in five of Hawaii’s 9.5 blocks, including all for of UH’s solo blocks. Nick West added nine kills with just one error in 15 swings and was in on four blocks, as was Zarkovic who finished with two of the team’s three aces.
It was the first time BYU had been swept since the season opener at current No. 1 Loyola-Chicago. The Cougars were led by Taylor Sander’s 17 kills.
The match lasted 1 hour and 50 minutes, with the marathon Set 1 taking 41 minutes. Set 1 also was the highest-scoring set in program history since the rally scoring era went to a 25-point set.
Set 1 had 10 lead changes and 22 ties, the last at 35. A hitting error by Sander gave Hawaii its seventh set point and West ended it with his fourth kill.
It was the final home match for Hawaii seniors Jace Olsen, Johann Timmer, Aniefre Etim-Thomas, Ramos and West
