Boxing had Ali vs. Frazier.
This men’s volleyball season has Hawaii vs. Brigham Young.
The two collegiate heavyweights come into the Stan Sheriff Center this week as the last undefeated teams in the country. A virtual weigh-in would show the No. 1 Warriors and No. 2 Cougars sharing a number of similarities other than the zero in the loss column.
In the tale of the tape, both return a solid nucleus from 2019, led by All-America opposites: Rado Parapunov for Hawaii and Gabi Garcia Fernandez for BYU.
Besides being ranked 1-2 in the national poll, they are 1-2 in blocking: the Cougars at 3.009 per set, the Warriors at 2.886.
They feature four of the top middles: Hawaii senior Patrick Gasman (No. 4, 1.324 bps) and freshman Guilherme Voss (No. 10, 1.182), and BYU junior Felipe de Brito Ferreira (No. 7, 1.282) and senior Miki Jauhiainen (No. 14, 1.073).
Continue down the statistical line. Hawaii again leads the country in hitting percentage, .386 to BYU’s third-best .351.
The two are in the midst of their second-best starts in their respective programs’ history. Hawaii has dropped just two sets all season, both on the road, the last coming on Jan. 18 at Loyola, the seventh match of the season.
BYU has dropped eight sets, four on the road, four at home. Three came against No. 3 UC Santa Barbara in Provo, Utah, including a 3-2 victory over the Gauchos in which the Cougars rallied for a 28-26 win in Set 4, holding off one match point, then finishing in Set 5 15-12.
Both are coming off wins over Stanford. The Warriors swept the host Cardinal twice last month and the Cougars swept the Cardinal last Saturday.
And … well, you get the idea.
“One versus two brings a lot with it,” Hawaii senior Colton Cowell said before Tuesday’s practice. “We’ve had this game circled on the calendar for some time. And the rivalry between Hawaii and BYU adds an element to the excitement, not necessarily adds to the pressure.
“We’re looking forward to ‘Packing the Stan’ against a really competitive opponent.”
Hawaii is nearing a sellout for Friday’s second match against BYU. As of Tuesday afternoon, about 1,500 tickets remained in the 10,330-seat Stan Sheriff Center. For Thursday’s opener, fewer than 4,000 are left.
Hawaii sold out the arena twice in 2019, for senior night against UC Santa Barbara and for the Big West tournament championship that featured No. 1 Long Beach State against the second-ranked Warriors.
Want another 1-2? This goes beyond this season.
The two have traded leading the nation in attendance since the Stan Sheriff Center opened. Hawaii led from 1995 to 2011, BYU from 2012-14 and ’16, and Hawaii in ’15 and since 2017.
The Warriors are averaging 6,391 (tickets), the Cougars 3,948, The latter was boosted by Saturday’s sellout of 5,817 against Stanford, the largest crowd in Smith Fieldhouse since 2005.
This week’s projected sellout will be the most fans the Warriors’ two starting freshmen have played in front of: middle Voss and redshirt setter Brett Sheward.
“It’s difficult to grasp what a sold-out arena is until you play in it,” Cowell said. “What we’ve told (the freshmen) is to embrace the moment.
“And we told then to get used to it because we’re hoping for more sold-out crowds the rest of the season.”
The commonality extends to the head coaches. BYU’s Shawn Olmstead, in his fifth season, earned his 100th victory last month. He also reached the century mark when coaching the Cougar women from 2011 to 2014.
Hawaii’s Charlie Wade, in his 11th season, is five victories away from 200.
“We’re excited. It doesn’t happen that often, where the top two teams meet,” Olmstead said. “Both of us have great volleyball communities. We’re excited to be a part of it.
“Hawaii is very similar to us. We have no specific concerns. I think both teams have to play clean volleyball. We’ll both have chances.”
This isn’t the first time these two have met as the top-ranked teams. In 2001, No. 2 BYU defeated No. 1 Hawaii twice in Smith, 3-0 and 3-2.
Coincidentally, the last time these teams played, it was the visitor who won and took home a trophy. The Warriors swept the Cougars at last season’s BYU Invitational, just the fourth time Hawaii won in Provo in 29 matches, as well as the first time in three. The Cougars claimed the title of the 2018 Outrigger Invitational, the last time the Warriors dropped a nonconference home match (the winning streak is at 25).
Starting senior setter Wil Stanley (Punahou) is one three BYU players with Hawaii ties. Younger brother Jon (Kaiser) is a freshman mostly used as a serving specialist, and sophomore hitter Kana’i Akana (Punahou), who has played in five sets.
Parking advisory
Large crowds are expected Thursday and Friday with the UH baseball team facing Oregon at 6:35 p.m. and the 7 p.m. volleyball matches with BYU. Motorists are encouraged to use the Waialae Avenue gate into the lower campus as well as alternate parking on upper campus that includes a free shuttle (Friday only). Alternate zones are 4 (near Korean Studies off East-West Center Road and 13 (lots along Correa Road). Real-time shuttle status map is available at UHMShuttle.com.
MEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
At Stan Sheriff Center
>> Who: No. 2 Brigham Young (16-0, 6-0 MPSF) at No. 1 Hawaii (14-0, 0-0 Big West)
>> When: Thursday and Friday, 7 p.m.
>> TV: Spectrum Sports
>> Radio: 1420-AM/92.7-FM
>> Series: BYU leads 41-21
