The No. 5 UCI Men’s Volleyball team (10-15, 3-7) was defeated by the No. 2 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (22-5, 7-3), 2-3 (25-21, 18-25, 27-25, 20-25, 11-15), at the Bren Events Center in Irvine on Saturday, April 16.
The Anteaters looked to avenge the previous night’s loss, in which they were swept 3-0 by the Rainbow Warriors.
The first set of the match was an absolute clinic for senior setter Brian Garcia as he had 13 assists in the set, the first of which came from a set up to sophomore outside hitter Francesco Sani for the kill. This made the score 2-3 in Hawaii’s favor.
The Anteaters played catch-up with the Rainbow Warriors in the opening half of the set, always getting close to tying or taking the lead; however, timely errors prevented them from doing so. Finally, an ace from redshirt sophomore outside hitter Doug Dahm tied the set at 14-14.
Garcia continued to set up Sani, as well as junior middle blocker Aiden Wolf-Nielsen, for kills to extend the lead, 16-14. The onslaught continued for UCI. Garcia displayed his defensive prowess by rejecting Hawaii’s attack at the net, and freshman outside hitter Hilir Henno came alive to build a four-point cushion, 18-14.
Henno added four kills in the final stretch of the set, and Sani closed the set with a furious spike. UCI won the first set, 25-21.
UCI began the second set with momentum, jumping out to a 4-1 lead after a fiery kill from redshirt sophomore outside hitter Cole Gillis. The ‘Eaters maintained this three-point lead until it was 10-7. They then committed three straight attack errors, which caused Hawaii to tie the set at 10-10 and forced UCI to call a timeout.
Hawaii shrugged off their sluggish start, and they played with energy and hustle as the second set progressed. The Rainbow Warriors put velocity into their attacks and refused to allow any UCI attack to go over the net. As a result, UCI never regained the lead and lost the set 18-25.
The third set began with both teams exchanging kills until it was tied at three, then consecutive Hawaii attack errors gave UCI a two-point lead. After kills from Henno and Sani set up by Garcia, UCI led 11-8. However, Hawaii went on a rampage, getting four straight kills to take the lead at 12-11.
Neither team could build much of a lead, and they exchanged kills and errors well into the closing moments of the set. With Hawaii at the advantage, 24-23, Wolf-Nielsen made a timely block to extend the set; however, a service error gave the lead right back to the ‘Bows. With the score at 25-24 in Hawaii’s favor, Garcia set up Sani again for an emphatic kill to tie it up, but a controversial touch call leading to an attack error gave UCI a one-point advantage.
Henno set up Dahm for the set-ending kill, 27-25.
The ‘Eaters had a cold start to the fourth set. They were on the brink of victory; however, the heat that the Warriors put on their attacks kept UCI frozen, and they trailed 3-6 in the nascent moments of the set.
Hawaii’s offense was potent and their largest lead came when they were up 19-13. Then, a Rainbow Warrior service error provided some life to the Anteaters. Back-to-back blocks from the towering Wolf-Nielsen closed the gap to three points, 19-16.
With the score at 22-18 after a Hawaii service error, Henno scored on two aces in a row and prompted a Rainbow Warrior time-out.
After the time-out, Hawaii was ready to kill. They swiftly ended the set with two kills and an ace to force a fifth set, 25-20.
UCI had a sense of urgency to begin the fifth and final set, but it was combated with Hawaii’s relentlessness. The ‘Bows finally got the opening kill after multiple stops by the Anteaters’ front row. Garcia set up Henno for a kill, but Hawaii’s front row was impenetrable as they led 4-1.
However, Hawaii’s errors kept the set close as they only held a one-point advantage, 5-4, after multiple attack and service errors. Kills from junior outside hitter Akhil Tangutur and Sani — all set up by Garcia — tied the match at 9. However, UCI continued to be their own enemy as they gave up four straight points due to errors.
With the score in Hawaii’s favor, 14-9, the Anteaters put themselves in a hole to close out the regular season. Two Hawaii errors seemingly changed the momentum, but a final kill promptly ended the match at 15-11. Hawaii won the match in sets, 3-2, and with more than half the arena filled with Hawaii faithful, the Bren erupted in cheers.
Hawaii held the advantage in kills, 66-53; however, UCI had the slight advantage in blocks, 29-28. Garcia had a masterclass in distribution, finishing with 42 assists while the main receiver of these passes, Sani, finished with 24 kills.
The Anteaters will travel to Hawaii for the 2022 Outrigger Big West Tournament presented by the Hawaiian Islands where they will take on No. 4 UC San Diego at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center on April 21.
Angus Wong is a Sports Staff Writer for the spring 2022 quarter. He can be reached at anguscw@uci.edu.
