To the draw-ers go the spoils?
All those ties over the weekend for UH-Hilo soccer didn’t stop the Vulcans from sweeping the last round of Pacific West Conference Hawaii pod player of the week honors.
Former Waiakea standout John Grover, a freshman, was honored Monday for scoring the only non-own goal of the weekend, while Jodi Lillie netted two second-half goals Sunday against Hawaii Pacific as the UHH women came back to earn their fourth draw of the season, 2-2. Lillie, a junior from Mililani, Oahu, looks well on her way from transitioning from all-league fullback to all-league midfielder.
“Jodi in the midfield has helped us a bunch,” coach Gene Okamura said. “Her ability and confidence on the ball helps us a ton in our build-up and playing final passes. Of course, her defensive ability also helps us a ton with her ability to read the game and intercept passes and win one vs. one battles.”
Grover’s second goal of the season Saturday in the opening minutes against Chaminade looked like it was going to stand up until an own goal relegated the Vulcans to a 1-1 tie. The 5-foot-9 forward also helped the Vuls keep a clean sheet for 180 minutes – excluding the own goal.
Lillie and Grover will maintain their eligibility and are sure to be a big part for their respective teams’ plans heading into the fall season, when PacWest and NCAA championships are expected to be back in play.
“Going forward, the big focus is fine-tuning the details we have been talking about all semester and execution of these concepts,” Okamura said.
UH-Manoa men’s volleyball: Rado Parapunov and Patrick Gasman each earned Big West Conference weekly honors after helping the Rainbow Warriors to a three-match sweep of No. 3 UC Santa Barbara.
After dropping the first set in the series opener Thursday, the Rainbow Warriors (7-0, 2-0 Big West) reeled off nine straight set wins and remained as the No. 1-ranked team in the country for the third consecutive week.
Parapunov led the team in kills (5.20 per set) and digs (2.40), hitting at a .422 clip. The Bulgaria native posted his first 20-kill match of the season in the series finale, also adding four aces in the nonconference match.
Gasman compiled 19 combined blocks in the series, and was best in the series opener, setting career-high for kills (16) and blocks (nine).
UH is off until is March 26-27, when it hosts UC San Diego.
