HONOLULU, Hawaii – No. 3 UC Irvine dropped the Big West opener to No. 4 Hawaii 3-0 (25-21, 26-24, 25-22) at the SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

Outside hitter Hilir Henno was the lone Anteater with double-figure kills, recording 13 while hitting .407 (13-2-27). He also had four digs and an ace.

UCI (10-3, 0-1) out-blocked Hawaii, 8.5 to 4.5, but UH out-hit the Anteaters .366-.316 and held a 6-4 advantage in aces.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Opposite William D'Arcy made his first start of the season, totaling a season-high seven kills, four digs and three block assists
>Middle blocker Micah Goss did not commit an error, recording six kills in nine swings (.667) with three block assists
>Outside hitter Nolan Flexen had six kills, four digs, four block assists and two aces
>Middle blocker Maxim Grigoriev matched Flexen with a team-high four block assists
>Redshirt freshman Aidan Rigg returned home and added 14 set assists, three digs and a solo block
>Setter Joe Karlous dealt 16 set assists
>Hawaii's Kristian Titriyski led all players with 17 kills, two aces and two block assists. Justin Todd hit .800 (8-0-10) to help UH improve to 14-1 overall and 1-0 in the Big West

FIRST SET
>Hawaii jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead
>UCI answered with the next three, including two kills and an ace from Hilir Henno, 3-2
>Henno would hang for a kill then a UH attack sailed long giving UCI the 11-10 lead
>The teams would remain within a point until UH used a 5-1 run which included a pair of kills and an ace by Kristian Titriyski, 23-20
>Following a kill by Micah Goss, UH ended the set with an Anteater service error and an ace, 25-21

SECOND SET
>Hawaii held a 6-3 advantage before UCI rallied on a kill by Nolan Flexen and back-to-back block assists by Maxim Grigoriev, 6-6
>The Anteater block would dominate with another by Grigoriev and Flexen and a solo by Aidan Rigg to help UCI out to a 9-7
>UH would quickly catch UCI at 10-10
>The Rainbow Warriors would create some separation with three in a row, two kills and a UCI attack error, 17-14
>Down 17-20, UCI came alive with a 6-1 run, that included three blocks to move in front 23-21
>A kill and ace by Titriyski followed knotting the score at 23s
>After a service error gave UCI set point, Hawaii would score the final three points on two kills and a block, 26-24

THIRD SET
>Five kills helped the Rainbow Warriors out to a 5-2 lead
>Hawaii led by five (11-6) before UCI chipped away to close within 11-12, on a kills by Flexen and Henno, and an ace by Micah Goss and two UH attack errors
>A pair of Warrior kills and a UCI attack error moved UH back out to a 17-13 advantage
>Consecutive kills by Goss and Flexen kept the Anteaters close, 15-17
>UH would out-score UCI 4-1 on three kills and an ace, 22-17
>A block by Grigoriev and Flexen plus kills by William D'Arcy and Henno forced a Hawaii timeout, 20-22
>Out of the break, Flexen dealt an ace, 21-22
>The teams would each score a point before Hawaii had a kill and a UCI attack error to win the set 25-22 and the match, 3-0

NOTES
>The Anteaters drop the Big West opener for the first time since 2020
>Henno has record double-digit kills in 12 of 13 matches this season

UP NEXT
The two teams will tangle again Sunday in Honolulu beginning at 7:00 p.m. PT