Career nights from Sinisa Zarkovic and Jace Olsen helped the University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team best another higher-ranked team from the Big Ten.
Zarkovic swatted a personal-best 22 kills and Olsen surpassed his previous high with 15 on Friday night as the Rainbow Warriors beat No. 11 Penn State 20-25, 25-22, 26-24, 25-21 at the Outrigger Volleyball Invitational at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu.
Led by Zarkovic (.421 attack percentage) and Olsen (.400), No. 14 UH (2-0) hit .350 to recover from a sluggish start. Nick West added nine kills, including three straight midway through the third set to help Hawaii pull ahead in a match in which both teams looked sharp, and Brooke Sedore had eight. Olsen formerly played with Penn State.
Nick Goodell compiled 19 kills for the Nittany Lions (0-2) — who hit .325 — while Aaron Russell added 16 kills and four service aces.
Hawaii faces top-ranked UCLA (2-1) at 7 p.m. Saturday in the title match. Earlier on Friday, the Bruins swept Ohio State 25-14, 25-23, 25-21. Hawaii opened the tournament by beating Ohio State on Thursday. The Buckeyes (2-0) and Penn State meet at 4 p.m. Saturday.