Honolulu, Hawaii – Opposite Karl Apfelbach took control of No. 5 UC Irvine's 3-1 come-from-behind victory (17-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-22) over No. 3 Hawaii Sunday evening at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Apfelbach put away 24 kills, one shy of his career-high and hit .500 (24-4-40). He recorded his second double-double of the season with a match-high 11 digs. The lefty also added two aces and two block assists.

Aaron Koubi complimented Apfelbach with 16 kills, also hitting .500 (16-3-26). Koubi had an impressive weekend, posting a season-best 17 kills against the Rainbow Warriors on Friday night.

Setter Dante Chakravorti ran the explosive Anteater attack with UCI's .435 hitting percentage coming in as third highest this season. The junior recorded 52 set assists which are tied for his second most this year.

Outside hitter Joel Schneidmiller added eight kills, while middle blocker Scott Stadick had seven kills on 12 swings and no errors (.583). Freshman Austin Wilmot had three kills and led the team with three total blocks. Libero David Parker totaled six digs.

UCI snaps a three match losing streak and goes to 11-4 overall and 1-1 in the Big West. The Anteaters snapped Hawaii's home conference win streak at 14 matches. The Rainbow Warriors are 9-2 overall and also 1-1 on the conference's opening weekend.

Hawaii's Stijn van Tilburg had a match-best 27 kills, hitting .458 (27-5-48). Rado Parapunov totaled 12 kills.

Hawaii did not have a service ace on the night, the first time this season an opponent has gone without a service winner.

Four straight points by Hawaii put the Rainbow Warriors up 11-8 in the first set. Four consecutive UCI hitting errors extended Hawaii's lead to 19-13. UH would win the set 25-17 after hitting .615 (18-2-26).

UCI made the first move in the second set on kills by Scott Stadick and Karl Apfelbach, 7-5. An 8-2 run, which included three more Apfelbach kills opened a 19-13 advantage for the Anteaters. UCI would win the set 25-18, hitting a blistering .720 (19-1-25). Apfelbach knocked down 11 kills in the set.

Three consecutive kills by Hawaii broke a 7-7 tie in the third set and forced an Anteater timeout. UCI returned the favor using points from kills by Stadick and Joel Schneidmiller and a solo block by Dante Chakravorti to knot the score again at 10-10. A UCI service error paired with a kill by Stijn van Tilburg gave Hawaii a 19-16 advantage. Trailing 21-19, Aaron Koubi put away a pair of kills to tie the set at 21 all. A kill by Apfelbach and a Warrior attack that went in to the net gave UCI its first lead of the set, 24-23. Following a Hawaii timeout, Stadick put down the set winner for the come-from-behind 25-23 victory.

In the fourth set, an Anteater service error and another van Tilburg kill gave Hawaii the slight 11-9 lead. UCI used consecutive Warrior errors to tie it up at 12-12. UCI scored four in a row on a Hawaii service and attack error, a kill by Koubi and an ace by Schneidmiller to take an 19-16 lead. A kill by Koubi and a Hawaii attack error gave UCI set point 24-20. After a two point delay, a Rainbow Warrior service error gave UCI the 25-22 win and the match 3-1.

NOTES: UCI's second set hitting percentage of .720 (19-1-25) was the highest of the season…the 19 kills in the set is the most in a set this year…It is Apfelbach's ninth consecutive double-figure kill performance…He has posted 20 or more kills three times this year…The teams started a new tradition with the teams playing for The Pineapple Orange Crate…The teams split a pair of matches and tied in sets so points was the determining factor giving Hawaii the inaugural prize with a +13 point differential.