Hawai’i sweeps UC Irvine to open Big West play

HONOLULU – Statement made. 

The University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team returned to the islands with an added fire and desire, opening the 2025 Big West season with a sweep over No. 3 UC Irvine on Friday night, (25-21, 26-24, 25-22). Freshman opposite Kristian Titriyski led the charge for the Rainbow Warriors, turning in 17 kills on 32 swings while twisting in a pair of service aces throughout the night. 

Redshirt freshman Justin Todd, starting in place of Ofeck Hazan, racked up eight kills on 10 swings to help boost Hawai’i (14-1, 1-0 Big West) in a tightly contested match while floor captain Tread Rosenthal piloted a beautiful offense for the Rainbow Warriors from start to finish with 36 assists and four putdowns of his own. 

More than 7,000 fans packed into the Stan Sheriff Center to watch the two elite programs duel on the court, creating an electric atmosphere from the starting lineups being announced on. Hawai’i has continued to be the hotbed for men’s volleyball viewing experience, pulling in fans from all over the globe with the product in Mānoa. 

The Hawai’i crowd, led by the fans of the night. UH has had over 5,000 fans in attendance for all 11 home games this season. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

“This is the coolest thing in the world right now in volleyball,” Hawai’i head coach Charlie Wade said of the environment for every home game. “Literally everybody around the world is talking about what’s going on in the Stan Sheriff Center for men’s volleyball right now. We’re incredibly humbled by the support that we get and it absolutely, as I’ve said, is the wind in our sails many times.” 

The opening frame set the tone for the night on both sides, seeing Hawai’i begin with the first two points before the sides traded rallies to remain within a point of each other up until the media timeout. UCI won the second of two first-set challenges to go ahead, 15-14. The clicking offense of the Rainbow Warriors did not miss a beat despite the break in the action, knotting the first set back up multiple times before powering ahead behind the right arms of Titriyski and Louis Sakanoko. 

Hawai’i began the second set a little quicker, seeing Titriyski, Todd and Adrien Roure each record points to give the hosts the lead on the way to a 15-14 advantage of their own at the media timeout. Roure enjoyed a strong second stanza, putting up three of his nine total kills (15 total swings) and scoring the set-winner in extra points after fellow Frenchman Louis Sakanoko calmed UH at the service line to help deliver a commanding 2-0 set lead to the Rainbow Warriors. 

“One of the things we preach is good service turns late,” Wade said. “And tonight, at the end of every set, we had guys go back there – and a variety of different guys – and came up and had some good turns, put some pressure on [UCI] … It was good to see that come out tonight in a big-time match against clearly one of the best teams in the country.” 

By the third set, Hawai’i had found the formula as the hosts raced out to an 11-6 advantage after Rosenthal’s lone ace of the match, the first time all night that either side had taken a lead of five or more over the other. With the assistance of a few UH attacking errors, the Anteaters chopped the lead down to a point before the media timeout. 

The Rainbow Warriors smacked back, restoring the 5-point advantage late in the third frame as Adrien Roure recorded his second and final ace to make it 22-17. Some Hilir Henno heroics helped UCI make Hawai’i sweat again after the Anteaters rattled off four of the next five points, but Kristian Titriyski’s 17th and final kill of the match returned the serve to UH for the aloha ball chance – which was returned long and out to complete the sweep in straight sets. 

Henno, the reigning AVCA national men’s Player of the Year, turned in a respectable 13 kills on 27 swings while committing only two attacking errors over the three-set loss for the third-ranked Anteaters. William D’Arcy added seven kills on 13 chances while committing a pair of errors himself while Micah Goss and Nolan Flexen each chipped in with six putdowns apiece as UCI fell for the third straight time out. 

“We had a hard week of practice, we felt we needed to push a little bit,” Wade said after the game of the team’s preparation leading up to the weekend. “The guys responded pretty well [tonight].” 

Hawai’i and UC Irvine will go again for Round 2 on Sunday with first serve scheduled for 5 p.m. HT. The Rainbow Warriors look to extend their 5-game winning streak while vying for the program’s first regular season sweep of the Anteaters in two years.