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Hawai’i opposite Rado Parapunov will go from playing in the NCAA Tournament finals to possibly playing in the world’s biggest international tournament.
Parapunov was selected to the Bulgarian Men’s National Team preliminary roster for the upcoming FIVB Volleyball Nations League.
The 30-player roster was unveiled Tuesday on the tournament’s website along with the primarily rosters for the other 15 countries in the Volleyball Nations League. In addition, Parapunov, who grew up in Sofia, Bulgaria before attending Hawai’i, is the sixth youngest player to make the Bulgarian roster.
Parapunov ended his junior season in the NCAA’s top 10 with both a 4.07 kills per game average and a .420 attack percentage, including having three consecutive Big West regular season matches with at least 20 kills. The Bryan Ivie Award winner as the nation’s top opposite also had both a career-high 89 blocks and 43 aces as he helped the Rainbow Warriors reach the NCAA Tournament finals.
The Volleyball Nations League starts on May 31 with five weeks of preliminary round play. The top-five teams at the end of the preliminary round and the finals host-nation United States will advance to the Volleyball Nations League Finals in July in Chicago.
Bulgaria finished the Volleyball Nations League last year in 11th place.