Hawai’i clinches share of Big West title after domination of CSUN

HONOLULU – Championship charge.

The No. 2-ranked University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team claimed at least a share of the 2026 Big West regular season title on Friday, cruising through a sweep of No. 18 Cal State Northridge (12-13, 0-9 Big West) inside Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center, (25-20, 25-16, 25-16).

Sophomore Kainoa Wade, starting in the place of a banged-up Kristian Titriyski, led Hawai’i (25-4, 8-1 Big West) with 10 kills on 19 swings. The 6-foot-10 opposite also matched Louis Sakanoko and Tread Rosenthal with a team-high six digs as the Rainbow Warriors kept the Matadors off the mat for the majority of the night.

The flying French duo of Sakanoko and Adrien Roure also combined for five of the eight service aces by Hawai’i throughout the match. Justin Todd, Tread Rosenthal and Kainoa Wade each dealt out one ace as the Rainbow Warriors racked up eight or more service scores in a single match for the ninth time this year.

Coming off the first conference loss of the year, Hawai’i wasted little time showing last Saturday was an abnormality as Charlie Wade’s crew took nine of the first 12 rallies for an early six-point lead. The advantage grew as large as 10 in the opening frame for UH, ultimately delivering a 1-0 set lead over the Matadors.

The uber-efficient Rainbow Warriors continued gliding back towards the win column in the second frame, hitting .750 through the first half of the set to take a 15-8 advantage by the media timeout.

The “Mānoa Roofing Company” opened back up for business for the rest of the second set, racking up 5.5 blocks as a team in the stanza on the way to a calm 25-16 victory in the frame.

Hawai’i turned up the heat from the service line in the third and final frame, dealing five aces out of the deck to close out another commanding victory despite hitting a match-low .261 in the set.

Tread Rosenthal had 27 assists and seven blocks to go along with his six digs and two kills for the Rainbow Warriors. Louis Sakanoko had five kills and four attack errors on 15 swings but made up for the up-and-down offensive night with his three aces, six assists and three blocks with his six digs.

Adrien Roure had nine kills and four attack errors as well, dealing out a pair of aces and racking up a couple of blocks in the win for Hawai’i.

The victory clinched at least a share of the 2026 regular season conference title for Hawai’i, the third time in program history that the Rainbow Warriors reigned supreme in the Big West during the marathon before the postseason push.

“You win the Big West regular season [title], you absolutely are in the running to win a national championship,” Charlie Wade said after his team clinched a share of the conference crown on Friday night. “That’s certainly our goal every year. Winning league championships in [the Big West] is hard to do, no question.”

The veteran head coach emphasized that a conference title was one of the boxes to check off on the way to a much bigger goal, but that the team would appreciate what they’d accomplished in earning the No. 1 seed in the Big West Championships along with an improving resume.

Hawai’i will celebrate its singular senior on Saturday night, saying aloha to Vladimir Kubr after two seasons with the program. The 6-foot-3 setter spent the first two years of his college career at Pepperdine before spending 2025 and 2026 in the islands.

Senior Vladimir Kubr shows appreciation to the home crowd after a loud ovation. | Photo Credit: Riley Guillermo, HSRN

It will be just UH’s third time only honoring one senior on Senior Night as Kubr will join Wally Hall in 1985 and Matthew Cheape in 2013 as the smallest graduating classes in program history.

Kubr has appeared in four matches in his Hawai’i career, including in two sets on Friday night to the delight of the Rainbow Warrior fans in attendance.

Hawai’i and Cal State Northridge will go for Round 2 on Saturday night as the Rainbow Warriors look to claim the outright regular season Big West title before celebrating Kubr after the match. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. HT.