It wasn’t a candle that Kupono Fey helped blow out on teammate Hendrik Mol’s birthday cake Friday night. It was a solo block that Fey said he willed to land in against Stanford, mentally blowing at the volleyball to stay inbounds on the Stan Sheriff Center court.
The 6-foot-5 senior hitter stuffed the Cardinal’s 6-7 Clay Jones, giving No. 4 Hawaii a 23-22 lead in Set 3. The Rainbow Warriors rode that momentum to finish out the 25-22, 25-17, 25-22 sweep of No. 8 Stanford.
A season-high 3,620 saw Hawaii (19-2, 9-2 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) extend several impressive streaks after 102 minutes. The Warriors have now won 18 consecutive at home, including 10 in MPSF play; taken 29 straight sets, have nine MPSF victories in a row and have swept their last nine opponents.
Fey’s block was just the sixth for the top blocking team in the country but it was one of the most satisfying. Warrior assistant coach Joshua Walker told Fey that the set would go to Jones and “I went out on him and stayed disciplined,” Fey said. “I did a little bit of blowing on that rainbow.”
It found room inside the back left corner, giving Hawaii its first lead since 4-3. Sophomore opposite Stijn van Tilburg then added his 21st kill and the night ended rather anticlimactically when Stanford senior Gabriel Vega was called for an illegal 3-meter attack.
Fey finished with seven kills and Mol six with no errors on nine swings. The senior middle also was in on five of the team’s six blocks.
“It was the best present I could get, the win,” Mol said. “The third set was pretty tight but we pulled through. I give much thanks to the crowd. The helped us get those last points.”
The teams meet again at 7 tonight. Stanford dropped to 11-8, 6-6 MPSF.
“We made some plays down the stretch,” Hawaii coach Charlie Wade said. “It’s become the trademark of this group. They are clear and confident in the chaos in the late moments, and they’re pretty confident and staying focused.
“That block by Kupono was huge. We have worked on that, blocking by yourself. It was nice to see him make that play in that moment.”
It was just Fey’s fourth solo block of the season and 19th of his career.
Hawaii hadn’t dropped a set since Feb. 4, that coming in the second against UC Santa Barbara. The Cardinal appeared poised to end that streak when leading for much of Set 1, including at 17-15.
Sophomore hitter Brett Rosenmeier capped a 4-0 service run with an ace as the Warriors took the lead for good at 20-17. Van Tilburg finished it off with his sixth kill.
Stanford more than threatened in Set 3. Vega, an ‘Iolani graduate, had one of his team-high 11 kills to put the Cardinal ahead at 6-5.
Hawaii played catchup, tying at 14, 15, 16 and 17 only to have Stanford gain separation at 19-17 on a kill by Vega and an ace by Eric Beaty.
Down 20-19, a solid serving run by freshman hitter James Anastassiades had the Warriors up at 21-20. It would be tied twice more, the last at 22-22, with Fey’s block starting off Hawaii’s 3-0 closing run.
“It was stressful there at the end and nerve-wracking to come in at that point,” Anastassiades said. “But I’m glad I was able to contribute.
“It was playing in my mind (the set streak) but I believe in my team. We’ve been working so hard we weren’t going to go down without a fight.”
