HONOLULU – It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see it could be a special season in the islands.

After registering a 27-6 record and a national semifinal appearance in 2025, the University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team returned 12 players and five starters. Losing a pair of All-Americans from the starting rotation to graduation, the UH staff reloaded in the transfer portal with talented newcomers Trevell Jordan and Quintin Greenidge.

UH checked in at No. 2 in the AVCA’s preseason poll, the eighth straight season with a top three ranking to begin a year. They also were selected No. 2 in the Big West’s preseason coaches’ poll, coming in two total points behind defending national champion Long Beach State for the predicted top spot in the conference.

Back again are AVCA All-Americans Adrien Roure, Tread Rosenthal and Kristian Titriyski, each of whom were recognized as preseason All-Big West picks for 2026. But junior Louis Sakanoko, sophomore Kainoa Wade and a handful of others quietly waited offscreen to show the growth they’d taken with a full year of battles under their belts.

The Rainbow Warriors (14-1) lead the country in kills per set so far in 2026, tallying a sliver under 14 putdowns per frame (13.96 K/S) as a group. Three of the top 15 attackers in the nation call Hawai’i home with Wade (.452, 3rd), Roure (.437, 6th) and Sakanoko (.389, 15th) taking turns tormenting opponents on a nightly basis.

“When everybody hits for a high percentage, you’ve got to credit the setter,” head coach Charlie Wade said on Monday. “Our three pins are literally two, three and four in the league and among the top in the nation, so Tread gets a lot of credit for that.”

Hawai’i was led by Roure hitting .327 last season with Kristian Titriyski close behind at .326, earning both players All-America honors as freshmen. Titriyski was leaned on heavily when healthy, averaging over 8.0 attacks per set to Roure’s 6.2 chances.

With the dynamic Titriyski dealing with injuries again this year, the UH offense has been forced to find other arms on the attack. Wade ran with the opportunity, earning his first career Big West Player of the Week award along with AVCA National Player of the Week honors to close January after racking up 44 kills, seven aces, eight blocks and 19 digs while helping Hawai’i to a 3-0 week with wins over Saint Francis and Penn State.

Wade, the son of head coach Charlie Wade, graduated early in December 2024 from Kamehameha-Kapālama after leading the Warriors to a state title over Punahou in the spring. A highly skilled player who had stretched out to a 6-foot-10 frame by his junior year of high school, the younger Wade needed a bigger challenge than prep volleyball in Hawai’i.

His freshman season saw those challenges as he played a reserve role for the Rainbow Warriors. Wade saw time in 30 matches but only got 165 total chances on the attack across 88 sets of action.

The offseason was a grind to get stronger and swing more against the best, leading to time in the weight room and training with USA Volleyball before coming back in the fall closer to a grown man than a high school kid.

“It’s a lot,” the elder Wade said when asked about the development in his son’s game back on February 3. “He needed to play at a high level and be challenged … he’s met every challenge so far, excited to see his continued development.”

Kainoa Wade skies for a kill against No. 6 BYU. | Photo Credit: Rayden Aoki, HSRN

Alongside Wade has been Louis Sakanoko’s next step as a player for UH. The junior from France came to the islands in 2024 as a raw but talented prospect with a knack for uncorking blistering serves – even at the risk of giving away a few points in the process.

In the time since, Sakanoko has shown off a creativity at the net that is rare. From sizzling service turns to behind-the-head kills, Sakanoko is good for at least one highlight per night.

But it’s the simplification of his game that’s made him more dangerous.

Sakanoko’s .389 on the attack is by far a career high, leading to 149 kills in only 43 sets of work. He’s shifted down the attacking errors as well, averaging under a mistake per frame for the first time in his college tenure.

“It’s real comforting and rewarding to see the evolution of a young man,” Wade said of Sakanoko. “We saw the raw talent and just very terminal in nature, and now to see him to be able to modulate … He’s more in control of life, and as a result, he is on the volleyball court.”

The veteran head coach detailed the junior’s work habits evolving in practice and training with the commitment to volleyball taking another step forward as well.

Sakanoko earned his second career Big West Player of the Week award this past week (and first of the 2026 campaign) after hitting .436 in two-match series sweep by the Rainbow Warriors over No. 6 BYU. He has recorded 10 or more kills in six different matches, including both meetings with the Cougars.

Louis Sakanoko celebrates after putting down a point in last Wednesday’s match against BYU. | Photo Rayden Aoki

Adrien Roure has continued his accension among college volleyball’s elite outside hitters in a similar way to his fellow Frenchman. The sophomore has become a more complete piece for UH after an incredibly impressive first-team All-American freshman season, slicing his attacking error rate by nearly half while turning up his service game another level.

He had his seventh and eighth matches with 10+ kills against BYU, tallying four total attacking errors across the two nights as Hawai’i needed just seven total frames to dispatch the Cougars with a pair of losses.

Riding an 11-game win streak, the Rainbow Warriors continue a mid-season gauntlet on Wednesday night when fellow 2025 national semifinalist and No. 7-ranked Pepperdine visits Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center for the first of a two-match series. First serve on Wednesday night is scheduled for 7 p.m. HT.