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Check out all the matches today involving NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball teams and how to follow them live.
No. 3/3 Hawai’i (9-1, 1-0 Big West) vs. No. 5/5 UC Irvine (10-4, 1-0 Big West)
Match vitals: 5 p.m. in Honolulu
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, Radio feed, In-match tweets
What to know: It’s still the first week of the Big West season, but No. 3/3 Hawai’i could deliver a serious blow to No. 5/5 UC Irvine’s chances of winning the conference regular season championship. The Rainbow Warriors after winning the series opener on Friday will conclude their two-match home match with a chance to drop the Anteaters two matches out of the first place and hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. Every conference match during the inaugural Big West season has an increased significance because shortened schedule. The 10-match Big West schedule is the shortest schedule for any conference in the nation. Outside attacker Stijn van Tilburg led all players with a season-high 21 kills in the four-game series-opening victory against UC Irvine. The All-American, who coach Charlie Wade opted to rest at times throughout the non-conference season, now has double-digit kills in each of the last four matches that he had significant playing time. Setter Joe Worsley also had 47 assists and guided Hawai’i to out-hit UC Irvine .336 to .318 in the series opener. The Rainbow Warriors began the weekend second in the nation hitting .362, while the Anteaters were fourth in the country with a .341 attack percentage. In addition, Hawai’i finished its inaugural Big West match with eight aces — six more aces than UC Irvine. Worsley had a match-high four aces, while outside attacker Brett Rosenmeier added two aces. Outside attacker Aaron Koubi in the loss led UC Irvine with 17 kills, while opposite Karl Apfelbach had 14 kills. Apfelbach has double-digit kills in all but one match this season and entered the road series fourth in the nation with a 4.00 kills per game average. UC Irvine has lost its last three matches and has not won a match against a ranked opponent since sweeping a two-match series against No. 6/6 BYU in January.