Pepperdine pops Hawai’i win streak behind Hartke’s huge night

HONOLULU – Hit a speed bump.

The University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team saw an 11-match winning streak come to an end on Wednesday night, falling inside Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center in four sets against No. 7 Pepperdine, (28-26, 25-22, 15-25, 30-28). Waves sophomore Cole Hartke powered the visitors from the MPSF to the upset with 24 kills on 52 swings and a pair of service aces.

Hawai’i (14-2) struggled behind the service line all night, committing 20 serving errors while only tallying six aces. The Rainbow Warriors outhit the Waves, .328 to .270, but ultimately saw the visitors get the biggest bounces of the night in the three tightly contested frames.

The two national semifinalist from a season ago got right to action in the opening set, seeing a three-point separation be the largest lead for either side as UH and Pepperdine wrestled to begin Night 1. Hawai’i staved off three set points by the Waves before an attacking error from Louis Sakanoko followed up by a double block by Pepperdine ended the first frame in favor of the visitors, 28-26.

Hawai’i snagged a five-point lead to begin the second set behind an increased blocking presence from the Mānoa Roofing Company, but Jose Gomez and Hartke turns with Ryan Barnett getting the Waves back into the frame. Hartke tied the set at 16 with one of his two service aces on the night, putting Pepperdine back even with the Rainbow Warriors or better for the rest of the frame.

A pair of kills from Kainoa Wade helped Hawai’i make it a 23-22 deficit late in the set, but a service error by the Rainbow Warriors returned a set-point serve back to the Waves and an attacking error set UH down two sets to none in the first of two meetings against Pepperdine this week.

The Rainbow Warriors looked to wake up in the third set, shooting out of a cannon to take a 9-3 lead in the early going behind Tread Rosenthal’s 100th career ace and a few more kills from Kainoa Wade. Unlike the previous frame, Hawai’i stepped on the gas after taking the quick advantage and raced to a 25-15 win to extend the night to a fourth set.

Tread Rosenthal (13) celebrates after a point during Hawai’i’s home match against No. 7 Pepperdine. | Photo Credit: Rayden Aoki, HSRN

Looking to close out the hosts before the crowd of 5,313 fans found their voices again, Pepperdine leaned back into Cole Hartke’s heavy-swinging right arm in what turned out to be the evening’s final frame. The 6-foot-11 sophomore racked up 12 kills and another ace in the fourth set alone, backpacking the Waves to an upset in extra points, 30-28, and holding off Hawai’i from forcing a winner-take-all fifth frame.

Kainoa Wade finished with 19 kills to lead the Rainbow Warriors in the loss, hitting .350 on 40 total swings while matching a season-high with nine digs. Louis Sakanoko added 15 kills with only four attacking errors on 32 swings while fellow French outside hitter Adrien Roure had a relatively quiet night with 10 kills on 25 swings and an uncharacteristic seven attack errors.

Tread Rosenthal picked up his first double-double of the year despite the loss, handing out 42 assists while totaling a team-high 13 digs. The 6-foot-11 junior setter also tacked on six kills on nine attempts along with one of UH’s six aces on the night.

Hawai’i and Pepperdine will reconvene for Round 2 on Friday with first serve scheduled for 7 p.m. HT.