THIS WEEK
No. 4 Hawaii vs No. 5 UC Irvine
Friday, Apr. 5 | 6:00 PM | Bren Events Center
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No. 4 Hawaii at No. 5 UC Irvine
Saturday, Apr. 6 | 6:00 PM | Bren Events Center
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FIRST SERVE
No. 5 UCI continues its homestand with a pair of matches against No. 4 Hawaii. The Anteaters welcome the Rainbow Warriors Friday and Saturday (Apr. 5&6) in important Big West matches. Both matches begin at 6:00 p.m. at the Bren Events Center.
 
STORYLINES
The Anteaters are 16-7 overall and 5-1 in the Big West.

In the Big West standings, UCI is in second place ahead of Hawaii who is 3-3 and UC San Diego, 3-4. Long Beach State tops the standings at 6-0.
 
The Big West Championship will be held Apr. 18-20 at Hawaii's SimpliFi Arena. The top two teams clinch a first-round bye into the semifinals.
 
UC Irvine dipped to No. 5 in the rankings after splitting the series with then-No. 16 CSUN last week.
 
In the 3-1 loss, UCI hit a season-low .117 (45-30-128), while the Matadors recorded 16 blocks in Northridge.
 
Returning to the Bren Events Center, UCI rebounded with a .412 (51-11-97) hitting performance, the third highest mark of the season.
 
The Anteaters lead the nation in kills (13.49) and assists (12.78).
 
UCI is also sixth in hitting percentage (.333), ninth in digs (9.34) and 11th in blocks (2.30).  
 
Outside hitter Hilir Henno leads the country in points with a 5.52 average. He is second in kills (4.73) and fifth in hitting percentage (.389). The lefty is also ninth in ace average (.461).
 
Henno is 10 service aces away from tying Carson Clark's UCI career record of 183.  
 
Hawaii enters the week 20-4 overall, beating UC Santa Barbara twice last week.
 
The Rainbow Warriors rank No. 1 in aces (2.18), second in hitting percentage (.362) and fifth in blocks (2.54)
 
UH has won the last 15-meetings between the teams with the Anteaters last victory coming on Feb. 25, 2018 in Hawaii. UCI's last win in Irvine came on Jan, 28, 2015.

The Anteaters and Warriors last met on March 10^th on the final day of the OUTRIGGER Invitational at the SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center with UH winning 3-2.
 
Henno had a career-high 36 kills, one shy of the UCI rally-scoring record, and had 40 points.
 
Hawaii was led by Invitational MVP Spyros Chakas' 17 kills before sustaining a season-ending leg injury.
 
The Anteaters out-hit (.299-.258) and out-dug (55-48) UH, while the Warriors out-blocked (17-10) and out-aced (9-4) UCI.
 
William D'Arcy and Nolan Flexen did not play in the first meeting.

UCI is 8-2 at home this season, while Hawaii is 3-2 on the road.

FRENCH CONNECTION
Two of the best players from France will be showcased this weekend with UCI's Hilir Henno and Hawaii's Louis Sakanoko.
 
Both players recorded nine aces in the same week earlier this season, Henno on Jan. 13 versus Princeton and Sakanoko on Jan. 12 versus Emmanuel.
 
Former Anteater All-American and national champion Kevin Tillie was a member of France's gold-medal winning team at the 2020 Olympics in Tokoyo.
 
FAMILIAR FACE
Grad student Brett Sheward will be on the opposite side of the net after playing for Hawaii from 2020-23.
 
While wearing green, he was an honorable mention AVCA All-American at libero, helping UH capture two NCAA titles (2021, 2022) from the backrow.
 
At UCI, he has moved to setter and leads the Big West and is second in the country in set assists with a 10.68 average.
 
He was named Big West Offensive Player of the Week on Mar. 4.
 
Sheward ranks third among active players with 658 career digs and career matches played with 112.
 
IN THE MIDDLE
Senior Connor Campbell and sophomore Maxim Grigoriev anchor the UC Irvine attack in the middle.

Campbell leads the Big West and is third in the country in hitting percentage at .418. He is also 12th nationally in blocking with a 1.00 average.

He has recorded five or more blocks eight times this season.

Grigoriev is sixth in the Big West in hitting percentage (.319) and ninth in blocks (.888). He is 12th in kills (2.33) and 10th in total points (3.08).

Grigoriev has recorded double-digit kills 10 times, including a career-best 17 in a win over USC.

He is second on the team in aces with 24.

FLEXEN RETURNS
Outside hitter Nolan Flexen returned to action after missing 12 matches.

He posted 14 kills, hitting .440 (14-3-25) with three digs and three block assists in the win over CSUN.

On the year, Flexen is averaging 3.31 kills, 0.74 digs and 0.62 blocks over 42 sets.

He has seven double-digit kill performances including a season-high 20, while hitting .667 against Princeton.