Former Husson star Eric Ahlers II pledges commitment to Hawaii Pacific

Former Husson star Eric Ahlers II pledges commitment to Hawaii Pacific

May 3, 2026

Former Husson star Eric Ahlers II pledges commitment to Hawaii Pacific

Eric Ahlers II (4) plays defense for Husson. | Photo Credit: Husson Athletics

HONOLULU – From coast to coast, Jesse Nakanishi’s staff refuses to leave any stone unturned.

Hawaii Pacific looked to the east coast and dipped back into the Division III pool of talent in the transfer portal on Sunday, gaining the commitment of former Husson forward Eric Ahlers II for his final season of eligibility.

The 6-foot-5 wing was on the shortlist of standouts in contention for the North Atlantic Conference Player of the Year award, earning 1st-team All-NAC honors after averaging 20.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game as a senior for the Eagles.

Husson finished in second place in the regular season conference standings in 2025-26, going 15-3 against league opponents while pacing the North Atlantic Conference in points per game (88.4 PPG).

Ahlers finished as the conference’s fourth-highest scorer as a senior and was the second-leading rebounder in the NAC, tallying 14 double-doubles for the Eagles. He also shot 46% overall from the field and drilled 37% of his 3-point attempts, connecting 66 times from beyond the arc in his final year at Husson.

The third addition in the portal for the Sharks, Ahlers provides an elite scoring option for Nakanishi’s squad after the graduation of all-PacWest 1st-team wing Joshua West – who also made the leap from Division III star to Division II impact player in the islands.

Ahlers scored in double figures in all 26 games (23 starts) last season at Husson, posting a high of 35 points (13-for-18 FG, 6-for-10 3PT) to go along with 14 rebounds against Maine Maritime in a late January victory for the Eagles. He scored 20 or more points in 14 games, including five of the final six contests of the campaign for Husson.

Hawaii Pacific also picked up former USCB guard Evan Kilminster and Northern Iowa forward Marino Dubravčić out of the portal, two players who are also expected to make their marks on the Sharks’ rotation next winter.

Along with the three transfers, HPU returns captain Avi Halpert along with Nemanja Sarenac, Zane Gaul, Ike Sutton and Shawn Villanea. The Sharks also received a commitment from Walnut Grove (TX) standout Chase Brooks, a 6-foot-1 guard who averaged 13.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while knocking down 40% of his 3-point attempts as a high school senior.

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USA Volleyball Hall of Famer Robyn Ah Mow steps down after nine years with Hawai’i

USA Volleyball Hall of Famer Robyn Ah Mow steps down after nine years with Hawai’i

Apr 29, 2026

USA Volleyball Hall of Famer Robyn Ah Mow steps down after nine years with Hawai’i

HONOLULU – It’s always hard being the coach after the coach, but it’s even harder to ask for anything more than what Robyn Ah Mow gave the University of Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine volleyball program.

After nine years and eight seasons at the helm of one of the most notable women’s volleyball programs in the country, Ah Mow announced that she would be stepping down from the head coaching role at her alma mater on Wednesday.

“This decision was not easy,” Ah Mow said in a press release sent out by UH. “It came after a great deal of reflection and soul searching, but the time has come to focus on my family who have sacrificed so much time with me so I could fulfill my dream of being the head coach of this storied program.”

The Rainbow Wahine went 165-72 under the watch of Ah Mow, dominating Big West play to the tune of a 114-28 record since 2017. Hawai’i made the NCAA Tournament in seven of her eight campaigns leading the program, missing out on the national tournament last season after going 12-17 and 8-10 in conference play.

Ah Mow took over as the program’s third-ever head coach after legendary coach Dave Shoji’s retirement following the 2016 season. In 42 years under his watch, Hawai’i won four national titles and racked up four other national runner-up finishes while finishing with 20-plus victories in 38 of the 42 campaigns.

Shoji finished his career with a record of 1,202-204-1, the second-most wins of any coach in the history of collegiate women’s volleyball at the time of his retirement. Ah Mow was a two-time AVCA 1st-team All-American setter for Shoji, going 66-4 and finishing as the national runners-up once in their four years together.

Ah Mow went on to compete in three different Olympic Games for the U.S. Women’s National team, serving as a team captain in 2008 and helping guide the Stars and Stripes to a silver medal. At the time, it was the third-ever medal that the USA women’s volleyball team had earned and matched the 1984 group for the best finish in the nation’s history.

She was inducted into the University of Hawaii Sports Circle of Honor in 2005 and joined fellow Rainbow Wahine great Heather Bown as part of USA Volleyball’s Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

“Robyn Ah Mow is the epitome of what it means to be a Rainbow Wahine,” Hawaii’s director of athletics Matt Elliott said in a statement released by the school. “She is a fierce competitor, a dedicated mentor, and an undeniable legend in the state of Hawai’i and the global volleyball community. We are incredibly grateful for the dedication and passion she poured into this program over the last nine years as the lead of Wahine Volleyball, and more than 30 years since she first stepped on campus. We will all miss her dearly as our head coach and wish her the absolute best in her next chapter.”

After her playing career concluded, Ah Mow joined the Rainbow Wahine coaching staff under Shoji and spent four seasons as an assistant from 2011 to 2015. She was officially tabbed as Shoji’s successor in 2017, becoming the first female head coach in the program’s illustrious history.

Her coaching career saw more success in the islands as she was named Big West Coach of the Year on three separate occasions (’19, ’21, ’22) while helping pilot the Rainbow Wahine to tournament appearances in all but one season.

“I gave everything I had to this team, pouring into each and every player with the goal of helping them become not only the best volleyball players they could be, but strong, successful women in life,” Ah Mow’s statement continued. “Playing for the ‘H’ was a privilege. Coaching this program has been an incredible honor.”

Photo Credit: HSRN

The consistent changes in collegiate athletics have accelerated the expiration date on a plethora of big-name coaches over the past half-decade with transfer portal madness, Name, Image and Likeness bidding wars and conference realignment as a few of the biggest reasons for early retirements and surprise new life ventures for coaches becoming more common.

Laura Beeman, who spent the previous 14 seasons leading the UH women’s basketball team to bundles of success in the Big West, stunned the local sports world as she announced her retirement from coaching at the end of March.

Bob Coolen, the winningest coach in UH softball history, called it a career last spring after 34 years as the head coach of the Rainbow Wahine.

Now, Ah Mow becomes the latest of the bunch to say “aloha” to the college coaching ranks as she focuses on spending time with her family.

“To the people of Hawai’i, thank you for your unwavering support and aloha throughout my time as both a player and a coach,” Ah Mow’s statement from UH closed with. “Mahalo and Aloha.”

Associate head coach Kaleo Baxter will serve as the interim head coach for UH, though a national search for a permanent head coach is set to begin immediately.

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Hawai’i gains commitment of former Davidson fan favorite wing Manie Joses

Hawai’i gains commitment of former Davidson fan favorite wing Manie Joses

Apr 28, 2026

Hawai’i gains commitment of former Davidson fan favorite wing Manie Joses

Davidson F Manie Joses (0) looks on during a game. | Photo Credit: Tim Cowie, DavidsonPhotos.com

HONOLULU – The NBA Global Academy to islands pipeline is alive and well.

Former Davidson forward Manie Joses became the latest player to announce their commitment to the University of Hawai’i on Tuesday, joining the Rainbow Warriors after spending the past two seasons with the Wildcats.

A 6-foot-7 wing with pogo-stick athleticism and a motor that would make a Bugatti jealous, Joses appeared in 54 games (6 starts) in his time at Davidson and quickly made himself a fan favorite after showing off a tendency for big blocks and dunks. He shot 53% from the floor and grabbed 14.3% of the total rebounds while he was on the court for the Wildcats.

His defensive profile projects to be an impact level with a chance to continue developing with more time, averaging 3.6 steals and 3.6 blocks per 100 possessions last year at Davidson. Dre Bullock led all qualified Rainbow Warriors with 3.4 steals per 100 possessions last year while Isaac Johnson’s 2.7 blocks per 100 possessions paced Hawai’i.

Originally from London, England, Joses moved to Australia to gain more exposure to Division I college programs while developing his game at the NBA Global Academy in Canberra with coach Marty Clarke. He was rated as a three-star recruit by 247Sports, checking in as the 79th-best small forward prospect in the Class of 2024.

With recruitment led by assistant coach Gibson Johnson, Joses gravitated towards Hawai’i thanks to trust that the staff had built up with his circle previously. After some of his own digging, Joses found UH head coach Eran Ganot had a strong relationship with Clarke which allowed trust to be built quicker between the springy wing and Rainbow Warrior staff.

“Playing for such a decorated staff that is so similar to what I came from at the NBA Academy and knowing I’ll be in an environment that will push me every day so I can develop is exciting,” Joses said in an interview with HSRN.

UC Davis, Western Michigan, UIC and Bucknell were some of the other schools that Joses considered before landing on the islands for his next home. Along with the coaching staff, the sophomore wing said the level of competition and type of community in Hawai’i helped make his decision easier.

“The sense of community is very important to me, and I feel like Hawai’i has it in abundance,” Joses said. “Playing at such a level as the Mountain West excites me [too].”

Joses becomes the eighth player out of the portal to join Hawai’i along with Marcus Adams Jr., Jaden Matingou, Zack Davidson, Houran Dan, Chance Trujillo, Kellen Hampton and Bol Dengdit, who is also an alum of the NBA Global Academy in Australia.

Hawai’i also returns Tanner Cuff and Isaiah Kerr from last year’s Big West champions while prep standouts Tiger Cuff and Scotty Belnap prepare for the freshman seasons.

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Long Beach State stuns Hawai’i late to take 2026 Big West Championship crown

Long Beach State stuns Hawai’i late to take 2026 Big West Championship crown

Apr 25, 2026

Long Beach State stuns Hawai’i late to take 2026 Big West Championship crown

Photo Credit: Brock Jones (@brockhawaii)

 

They don’t say it’s hard to beat a team three times for no reason.

The top-seeded University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team learned that saying the hard way on Saturday night in the 2026 OUTRIGGER Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship, falling inside the Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif., against No. 2-seeded Long Beach State (24-4, 8-2 Big West) in a five-set marathon, (25-20, 25-27, 25-22, 28-30, 15-11).

Freshman opposite Wojciech Gajek racked up a career-best 27 kills on 45 swings to help lead the Beach to the program’s third-ever Big West tournament crown. The 6-foot-6 product of Poland also added three of LBSU’s seven service aces along with five digs and six blocks on the way to earning tournament Most Valuable Player honors.

Hawai’i (27-5, 9-1 Big West) saw their repeat bid denied despite a 20-kill, 7-dig, 5-block performance out of standout sophomore Kristian Titriyski, who missed UH’s postseason run last season while dealing with an injury.

“Certainly the match was entertaining, could’ve gone either way,” head coach Charlie Wade said after his Rainbow Warriors dropped a five-setter for the first time this season. “We had a chance, I thought, if we win the second [set], things probably go a little different and in the fourth … we had a chance to close it out, but you’ve got to give credit.”

UH took the night’s opening stanza behind big showings from Titriyski and sophomore middle blocker Ofeck Hazan, who got the start in place of injured middle blocker Justin Todd. Titriyski tallied six of his 20 kills in the first frame while Hazan got hands on four blocks and added a pair of kills for good measure.

“Ofeck is the consummate professional,” Wade said of his reserve sophomore middle blocker. “He’s a guy that’s always ready to go when called upon and he just battles … we’re just thrilled he’s on our team.”

Hawai’i put themselves in the driver seat midway through the second set, using Louis Sakanoko’s sixth kill of the match to take a 15-13 lead at the media break. The regular season champion Rainbow Warriors remained in front until the final few turns of the encore frame, seeing the Beach rally to take a late advantage and finish off the set with back-to-back putdowns from Gajek and Ben Braun.

Tempers began to flare as the two sides chirped between the net from the start of the third set, trading massive rejections and putdowns at the net. Hawai’i reached 15 first again, but LBSU countered with five of the next seven points to lead ahead, 19-17.

UH was able to even the scales at 20, setting up a race to five with a win-by-two stipulation.

Louis Sakanoko knotted the swing frame at 22, putting the ball into the hands of Tread Rosenthal for a set-ending run behind the service line. The junior setter crushed three consecutive serves, capped off by one of his two aces on the night, to put the Rainbow Warriors in the driver’s seat with a 2-1 set lead.

Long Beach State refused to lose.

Hawai’i rallied from a three-point deficit late in the fourth to knot the set at 22 and had five different chances at championship point, but the Beach fought off all five before Jackson Cryst changed the fortunes of the No. 2 seed with back-to-back aces to deliver the fourth frame to LBSU and set up a winner-take-all fifth stanza between the Beach and ‘Bows for the second time this season.

LBSU would get vengeance for the first time when Hawai’i held them off in the Pyramid back during the regular season, racing out to a 12-5 advantage before holding off one last push from the Rainbow Warriors for a 15-11 decision and first Big West title since 2024.

Skylar Varga added 16 kills, nine digs and six blocks for LBSU while Jackson Cryst tacked on eight kills, nine blocks and three momentum-changing aces.

Hawai’i got 17 kills from Louis Sakanoko and 15 kills from Adrien Roure, but the two combined for 13 hitting miscues and 11 of the 19 serving errors by UH.

The middle blocker duo of Ofeck Hazan and Trevell Jordan provided a lift on a night Hawai’i needed all hands on deck, seeing Hazan’s spot start result in six kills, no attacking errors and a team-high nine blocks while Jordan had three kills (one attack error) and three blocks in the loss for UH.

Tread Rosenthal racked up 54 assists, four kills, four digs, four blocks and two aces, continuing his ascent up the UH career leader chart in service scorers with his 114th ace helping tie him for fifth in program history with Rado Parapunov.

Long Beach State receives the Big West’s automatic qualifier berth to the NCAA Tournament while Hawai’i is expected to receive one of the at-large bids to the new 12-team bracket pool.

Asked about his belief of where Hawai’i should be playing next weekend in the regional round of the national tournament, head coach Charlie Wade held firm on the Rainbow Warriors deserving to be one of the host sites.

“Stan Sheriff Center,” the veteran head coach flatly stated.

The official bracket for the national tournament will be revealed at 10 a.m. HT on Sunday, April 26 on NCAA.com.

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No. 1 Hawai’i dispatches No. 5 UC San Diego in Big West semifinals

No. 1 Hawai’i dispatches No. 5 UC San Diego in Big West semifinals

Apr 24, 2026

No. 1 Hawai’i dispatches No. 5 UC San Diego in Big West semifinals

Photo Credit: Brock Jones (@brockhawaii)

Good time for some get back.

It took a little bit of a warm up, but the top-seeded University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team turned up the gas to accelerate away from No. 5 UC San Diego (13-14, 3-7 Big West) in four frames on Friday evening, (25-19, 19-25, 25-20, 25-13), advancing to the 2026 OUTRIGGER Big West men’s volleyball championship match on Saturday.

Louis Sakanoko, a 1st-team All-Big West selection, led the way with 12 kills for the Rainbow Warriors while adding four digs, three blocks and a service ace in the win. Fellow French product and 1st-team All-Big West pick Adrien Roure was the only other UH player to tally double figures in the kill department as he racked up 10 kills, five blocks and three digs.

Hawai’i (27-4, 9-1 Big West) overcame 21 attacking errors, including 13 over the first two sets, to avenge the lone conference loss of the year and clinch a second straight conference title match appearance in one fell swoop.

“That team’s given us all we can handle,” head coach Charlie Wade said of the Tritons after UH’s victory. “We weren’t as sharp offensively as we have been throughout the year but a lot of that is credit to a tough [UCSD] team and we’re fortunate to come out with a win.”

Despite losing redshirt sophomore Justin Todd early in the first set to a lower left leg injury, Hawai’i got a massive boost from the middle blocker position as Trevell Jordan and Ofeck Hazan combined for 12 kills and just two attack errors while each adding four blocks.

Hazan entrance to close out the first frame proved to be a helpful jolt of energy for UH as the top-seeded Rainbow Warriors scored the final five points after the sophomore from Israel entered and took the stanza, 25-19.

UC San Diego was able to capitalize on the continued sloppiness of Hawai’i in the second set, seeing nine more miscues (six attack, three service) from the higher seed provide the cushion needed to knot the match at one frame apiece as the Tritons hit .379 as a group.

After trading the first 18 points of the third, the Rainbow Warriors took control of the swing set behind a Kristian Titriyski service turn that resulted in five straight scoring rallies and a 14-9 lead over the Tritons.

“We settled down and got a little bit better rhythm offensively,” said Wade of the shift in momentum.

UCSD pulled no closer than three for the remainder of the scale-tipping set, seeing UH commit four total errors (two attack, two service) over the final 18 rallies on the way to a comfortable 25-20 decision and 2-1 set lead.

Hawai’i left little time for UC San Diego to recover in a must-have fourth frame, ripping off an 11-0 run that put the top-seeded Rainbow Warriors up 17-6 and forced the Tritons to burn through both timeouts.

Three more errors by UH helped UCSD extend the night a tad longer, but Sakanoko smoked his 12th putdown of the match to end the fourth frame with a 25-13 win for the regular season champion Rainbow Warriors.

Tread Rosenthal had another solid all-around day at the office as the setter went for 39 assists, seven digs and five kills on 10 swings while getting hands on three different blocks in the win by Hawai’i.

No. 2 Long Beach State dispatched No. 3 UC Irvine in straight sets in the other semifinal, setting up a rematch from last year’s Big West Tournament championship match between the Beach and ‘Bows.

Hawai’i beat LBSU in five sets on March 20 at the Pyramid and followed up the hard-fought win with a convincing sweep of the Beach on the very next night to help take full control of the regular season Big West standings. The Rainbow Warriors beat the Beach in four sets in last year’s Big West Championship match behind a 14-kill performance from Finn Kearney.

The 2026 OUTRIGGER Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship match between No. 1 Hawai’i and No. 2 Long Beach State will see first serve on Saturday at 2 p.m. HT.

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