Hawaii wins first men's volleyball title in 3 sets over BYU

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Rado Parapunov had 13 kills, seven digs, two blocks and three aces, and Hawaii won its first national championship in men’s volleyball with a dominating 25-21, 25-19, 25-16 victory over BYU on Saturday night.

Parapunov was named the most outstanding player after his 18th straight match this season with double-digit kills.

“It's about the heart, it's about your teammates, it's about doing your best, it's never about stats," Parapunov said. “It's about this right here (trophy). I lost it once and second time thankfully I got it.”

The top-seeded Rainbow Warriors (17-1) didn't lose a set during the NCAA Tournament.

Parapunov had five kills in the first set and freshman Chaz Galloway added three. Hawaii was never challenged in the second set, going on a 6-0 run and jumping out to a 16-8 lead.

Hawaii kept it going in the third, building a 11-5 advantage and finishing with 41 kills, 10 aces and just 11 service errors while hitting .381.

BYU (20-4) has lost 12 straight sets in championship matches, getting swept in 2013, ‘16 and ’17.