Hawai’i slips by No. 9 Stanford in five sets to remain unbeaten

HONOLULU – Good or bad, still a win. 

The fourth-ranked University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team showed off a flair for the dramatic again on Wednesday night, going the distance and needing extra points to down No. 9 Stanford, (23-25, 25-20, 25-19, 20-25, 16-14). Freshman opposite Kristian Titriyski paced the Rainbow Warriors, demolishing 15 kills while adding five digs and a service ace. 

Sophomore outside hitter Louis Sakanoko got his second consecutive start for UH, rewarding the coaching staff’s confidence with 14 kills and four digs to go along with an ace and a block. Freshman outside Adrien Roure finished with double figure kills for the seventh time in nine matches, tallying 13 putdowns for the Rainbow Warriors. 

Stanford (3-4) saw its recent struggles against the UH men’s volleyball team continue, falling for the 10th consecutive time to the Rainbow Warriors in the islands and 12th consecutive time overall. The Cardinal, who were playing their first true road contest of the season, fought back in front of the near-6,000 fans in attendance from being down a set to force a fifth frame, making Hawai’i (9-0) play into extra points before eventually succumbing to the sheer force of host’s talented assortment of players. 

The month of February continued its kindness to Hawai’i as the Rainbow Warriors overcame nearly 40 errors to win their 38th straight match during the calendar month, dating back to 2019.  

The Cardinal, coming off back-to-back home losses against No. 2 UC Irvine, threw the first punch Wednesday night as they raced out to a 15-10 lead behind a .471 team hitting percentage on 17 total swings. Hawai’i, adjusting to the speed of the Stanford attack, worked itself back within a pair a few minutes later with an ace from freshman serving specialist Finn Kearney. 

Hawai’i came close to forcing extra points in the first set, pulling within a point after an attacking error from Nate Clinton blew the premier set point chance of the night. With a chance to knot the match at 24, the Rainbow Warriors set up Ofeck Hazan in the middle of the net, but the freshman middle blocker’s swing saw the ball sail just wide as Stanford took the first frame. 

The hosts got off to a much stronger start in the second stanza, using a productive attack and four errors from the service line by Stanford to help build a 14-8 lead. After seeing the Cardinal pull within two themselves, 22-20, the Rainbow Warriors rattled off three straight points to slam the door on the second set and knot the match at one set apiece. 

Libero ‘Eleu Choy (5) lets out a celebratory shout after Hawai’i wins a rally against No. 9 Stanford. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Stanford answered back with a strong opening to the third frame, jumping out to a 13-7 advantage as Hawai’i committed five errors. Four straight points from the Rainbow Warriors forced a Cardinal timeout, but the momentum had shifted quickly in favor of the hosts as the fans in attendance got loud once again. 

After the Stanford timeout, Kurt Nusterer put together an impressive run at the service line as Hawai’i scored eight straight points to flip the frame on its head and give the lead to UH, 21-16. The teams took turns trading six errors in a row from the service line, setting up set point for the Rainbow Warriors in the swing stanza with a 24-18 cushion. After the Cardinal staved off the set loss for one point, Kristian Titriyski closed out the frame with 13th kill of the night to put Hawai’i on the cusp of another win. 

The Cardinal would not go down that easily though, dominating the fourth set from the jump to put Hawai’i in a 7-point hole by the media timeout. UH closed the stanza strong, fighting off a pair of set winners before finally dropping the frame, 25-20, forcing a winner-take-all fifth to play. 

Hawai’i burst out of the gate to start the set, using a pair of Rosenthal aces to go out in front and force a Stanford timeout as the Rainbow Warriors went up 3-0. The timeout stalled the UH momentum momentarily, seeing the Cardinal take five of the next six points to go in front by one.  

Freshman Kainoa Wade, who saw time in three sets on Wednesday night, knotted the match back up a couple rallies later as he snuck an attack inside the right pin before Kurt Nusterer smacked an ace to re-ignite the Hawai’i crowd. The two sides continued trading blows until the Rainbow Warriors grabbed a slight 12-10 advantage with a Nusterer and Adrien Roure combined block of Moses Wager. 

After Stanford fought off back-to-back aloha ball points, a service error from Cardinal star Theo Snoey put Hawai’i back in prime position to take the match. Tread Rosenthal did the honors, dunking on two to help Hawai’i survive its third five-set thriller of the season in extra points, 16-14. 

Theo Snoey racked up a match-high 19 kills on 40 swings in the loss for Stanford, adding nine digs while committing seven serving errors in an up-and-down night. Opposite Moses Wagner chipped in 14 kills, seven digs and five blocks for the Cardinal, who have lost three straight matches after starting the season with victories in three of their first four. 

Hawai’i and Stanford reconvene for Round 2 on Friday night with first serve scheduled for 7 p.m. HT. Fans are encouraged to attend the alumni game at 4:30 p.m. and come wearing white shirts as the Rainbow Warriors look to “white out” the Stan Sheriff Center for the second meeting against the Cardinal.