Hawaii volleyball senior Parapunov, freshman Voss make impact in earning Big West honors

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hawaii freshman Guilherme Voss, a Brazilian national, had a combined 16 kills and 10 blocks in victories over Concordia Irvine and UC Irvine last weekend.

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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

Hawaii freshman Guilherme Voss, a Brazilian national, had a combined 16 kills and 10 blocks in victories over Concordia Irvine and UC Irvine last weekend.

ANDREW LEE / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER / FEB. 8
Rado Parapunov was named Big West Player of the Week for a conference record ninth time.

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ANDREW LEE / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER / FEB. 8

Rado Parapunov was named Big West Player of the Week for a conference record ninth time.

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Three victories led to two conference honors for No. 1 Hawaii on Monday.

The Rainbow Warriors (12-0) remained the top team in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Men’s Division I-II Top 15 and are one of two unbeatens left in the country. Hawaii received 11 of the 16 first-place votes, with No. 2 Brigham Young — also 12-0 — receiving the other five votes for the second consecutive week.

The Warriors won their signature event, the Outrigger Hotels & Resorts Invitational, for the 10th time, sweeping Queens, then-No. 14 Concordia Irvine and then-No. 4 UC Irvine. Hawaii has dropped just two sets this season, both on the road, and are 24-0 in sets at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Helping the Warriors to extend their home winning streak to 25 last week were senior opposite Rado Parapunov and freshman middle Guilherme Voss, both honored by the Big West on Monday. Parapunov was named Player of the Week for the ninth time — a conference record — and Voss earned his second Freshman of the Week award.

Parapunov put down a match-high 17 kills, hitting .560, in Friday’s sweep of the Eagles and 14 kills in the sweep of the Anteaters on Saturday. The Bulgarian national has 918 career kills and is 82 shy of becoming the 18th Warrior to reach 1,000 kills.

Voss, a Brazilian national, finished with a combined 16 kills and 10 blocks in the wins over CUI and UCI.

The Defensive Player of the Week went to UC Irvine’s Scott Stadick. The 7-foot senior middle had a combined 26 blocks as the Anteaters finished second in last week’s Outrigger Invitational, including a career-high 11 block assists in Saturday’s loss to the Warriors.

In Monday’s poll, UC Santa Barbara (8-2) stayed at No. 3 while Long Beach State (7-1) and UC Irvine (7-4) traded places at Nos. 4 and 5, the Beach moving up a spot and the Anteaters down one.

UC San Diego moved back into the poll, tied at No. 14 with Ohio State (8-3), giving the Big West five ranked teams for the second time in three weeks. The only conference member not ranked is Cal State Northridge (2-9).

Hawaii makes its second road trip of the season later this week, playing at No. 12 Stanford (5-5) on Friday and Saturday.