Hawai’i OPP Kristian Titriyski during a home match against No. 20 McKendree. The freshman had 17 kills in the second meeting in three nights between the teams, leading UH to a sweep. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Hawai’i sweeps pair against McKendree with straight set Sunday win

BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED JANUARY 5, 2025

HONOLULU – Two for two. 

The University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team took the second of two weekend meetings with the McKendree Bearcats on Sunday, sweeping the 20th-ranked visitors in straight sets – (25-20, 25-19, 25-16) – behind freshman Kristian Titriyski’s 17 kills and two service aces to cap off a perfect opening weekend. 

Fellow freshman Adrien Roure finished off 13 kills of his own, giving him 30 total putdowns on the weekend as the Rainbow Warriors (2-0) remained perfect all-time against McKendree (0-2) in four total meetings with the Bearcats. Sophomore setter Tread Rosenthal added 40 assists, three kills and a team-best six digs in the sweep, piloting the offense to a .463 hitting percentage over the three frames. 

McKendree was led by D’Aaron McCraney’s eight kills on an efficient 11 swings, seeing the 6-foot-9 senior collect a team-high three blocks. Sophomore setter Nathan Flayter handed out 26 assists for the Bearcats, smacking two aces while giving the Rainbow Warriors some issues with a hybrid serving style. 

Hawai’i battled back multiple times throughout the opening set, erasing a four-point deficit midway through the frame to come back and take it, 25-20, behind a potent attack that hit a scorching .625 on 24 swings while only committing two hitting errors. Kristian Titriyski, who played sparingly on Friday night as he continued to recover from an illness that effected a multitude of Hawai’i’s men’s volleyball starters, hit .800 by himself on 10 swings and added one of three aces by UH in the stanza. 

The accumulation of aces continued into the second set, seeing Tread Rosenthal and Titriyski each add second aces while the Rainbow Warriors hit .478 on 23 swings to take a slim 15-14 advantage into the media timeout. Hawai’i’s attack continued on, seeing redshirt junior Kurt Nusterer deliver his third kill of the night for the set winner as the Rainbow Warriors continued to heat up. 

Hawai’i fired away to open the third set, scoring seven of the first nine points to force a McKendree timeout. The dominance continued into the media timeout, seeing the Rainbow Warriors lead 15-9 behind seven kills and only one hitting error on 12 swings. Senior Kawai Hong enjoyed a few fun, high-effort moments while recording a pair of digs to help UH cruise to a third frame win and the sweep, 25-16. 

Harvard will visit the islands later this week, facing off with Hawai’i on Wednesday at 7 p.m. HT for the first of two matches in three days. The Crimson received votes in the season-opening AVCA Coaches’ Poll and will be kicking off their season in the islands after not playing during the opening weekend.