The No. 1 Hawaii men’s volleyball team got through the opening weekend of the 2020 season unscathed as it swept Charleston for the second straight night, 25-18, 25-16, 25-17, tonight at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Senior hitter Colton Cowell had eight kills to lead UH (2-0), which managed to insert 15 players into the match.

Charleston (0-2) of West Virginia struggled mightily at the service line, firing 19 errors and no aces, to 10 errors and six aces for UH. The Rainbow Warriors hit .312 to the Golden Eagles’ .164.

Set 1 was an offensive showcase, as opposite Rado Parapunov pounded four kills on five swings. The Golden Eagles hit .429 for the frame but hurt their cause with six service errors. Parapunov ended the set on UH’s third ace.

>> Click here for photos from tonight’s match

Coach Charlie Wade then gave freshman opposite Dimitrios Mouchlias a shot in place of Parapunov. Both freshman liberos, Shea Suzumoto and ‘Eleu Choy, also saw action in the match.

Charleston opened Set 2 with leads of 3-0 and 5-3. UH caught up by the middle of the set, with Cowell supplying heat from the back row. Mouchlias got in on a triple block to set up set point and the teams traded service errors for UH to grab a 2-0 overall lead.

Parapunov re-entered for Set 3 and UH jumped out to an 8-4 lead. At that point, freshman Alaka‘i Todd, a Punahou alumnus, entered for his first career action. He was blocked on his first swing, but his ace soon afterward gave UH a 13-8 lead. With UH up 17-10, more reserves came in — freshman hitter Cole Hogland and freshman setter Brett Sheward. Hogland’s block solo set up match point and UH won two points later on another service error by Charleston.

UH returns to action on Thursday against Emmanuel College (Ga.) in the Raising Cane’s Rainbow Warrior Classic.