Hawai’i rips through rematch against UC Irvine in straight sets

Hawai’i rips through rematch against UC Irvine in straight sets

Apr 4, 2026

Hawai’i rips through rematch against UC Irvine in straight sets

Hawai’i OH Louis Sakanoko smiles during a victory inside the Bren Events Center. | Photo Credit: Brock Jones, HSRN

The Bulgarian Blaster is back at full strength.

The No. 2-ranked University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team continued a trend of tormenting teams on the second night of a series on Saturday, sweeping No. 5 UC Irvine in straight sets inside the Bren Events Center, (25-22, 25-22, 25-22).

Sophomore Kristian Titriyski belted down a team-high 20 kills for the Rainbow Warriors, including the final point of the night to keep the visitors unbeaten in Big West play. The Bulgarian opposite was in his usual boom-or-bust state, shining for the majority of his 29 swings while also tossing in seven hitting errors.

“He hits the ball harder than most humans and usually good things happen,” head coach Charlie Wade said of the cannon-armed high variance opposite. “But he’s got to be a little more cerebral in those long rallies and in transition situations.”

Titriyski missed nearly two months and 12 straight matches for Hawai’i (23-3, 6-0 Big West) before finally returning during the OUTRIGGER Invitational back on March 12. The 6-foot-8 opposite had tallied double figures in the kill department in all but one match since returning, but Saturday night was the closest he had looked to the All-American form he showed during his freshman campaign.

One night after posting a near-triple double, UH setter Tread Rosenthal dished out another 38 assists while adding four digs and four blocks in the victory. The offense hummed along all evening for Hawai’i, hitting .453 as a group over the three frames for the best hitting percentage by the team since February 25 against BYU.

Louis Sakanoko and Adrien Roure each tacked on eight kills for the Rainbow Warriors, who improved to 10-1 in the second game of a series this season with the victory.

After going the full five frames on Friday, one may have expected a similar sloppiness to the overall attack from both sides. The first night between squads saw a gnarly 41 combined attack errors, each tallying over 20 offensive miscues in a back-and-forth affair that needed extra points to be decided.

Hawai’i had no such plans, throwing the first punch by hitting .500 with just two total attack errors in Saturday’s opening set. Titriyski racked up eight kills on 10 swings by himself, helping hold off a late rally by the Anteaters with back-to-back putdowns that delivered the frame to UH.

UC Irvine was sound offensively themselves, only sending three swings on the attack out for a free point while hitting a very respectable .344 in the first set.

The Anteaters turned the dial up another level in the follow-up frame, going without a single error in 26 swings while hitting .423, but it still wasn’t enough as the Rainbow Warriors got a pair of late aces from Adrien Roure to pull away for a 2-0 set lead. Hawai’i also hit .500 for the second straight set with just three attacking errors.

With another tough road trip next week against No. 13 UC San Diego coming up, Wade acknowledged a desire to not allow the Anteaters to stick around in the third and extend the match further. Prior to Saturday night, UC Irvine had not been swept all season.

A red-hot start for Hawai’i helped change that.

The Rainbow Warriors raced out to a 7-1 lead in the third frame, never allowing UCI to get closer than four to set up match point, 24-16.

Andrej Jokanovic refused to let the Anteaters go down without any type of fight, rattling off five straight points from the service line with three aces to make it a two-point deficit and force Wade to burn both of his timeouts.

Calmed after the rapid rally by the hosts, Hawai’i finished off the Anteaters with Titriyski’s 20th kill of the night to remain unbeaten and record a second consecutive impressive road sweep against a Big West foe ranked in the nation’s top five.

“I don’t know if we’ve ever gone 4-0 on the road at those two places since the Big West started,” Wade said of the Rainbow Warriors sweeping through both UCI and Long Beach State on the continent. “It’s nice to get significant road wins in-league, you know? Those are really good teams that all have legitimate designs on winning not only a league championship but a national championship and [it’s] nice to be able to go into their place and come out on top.”

Quinten Greenidge was quietly incredible for Hawai’i, recording nine digs while helping spark a plethora of Rainbow Warrior runouts in transition after big UCI swings. Trevell Jordan was also strong in the middle, going a perfect 4-for-4 on his attack chances while adding a block and three digs himself from the middle blocker spot.

Andrej Jokanovic had nine kills on 26 swings for UC Irvine but totaled six service aces that helped keep the Anteaters within striking distance and alive late. William D’Arcy led UCI with 13 kills on 31 swings, committing four attacking errors in the loss as well.

Hawai’i will return to the islands before heading back to the continent next week for a two-match series in La Jolla, California against UC San Diego. The Rainbow Warriors sit atop the Big West standings with four matches left in the regular season.

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Tread Rosenthal’s near-triple double helps hoist Hawai’i over No. 5 UC Irvine

Tread Rosenthal’s near-triple double helps hoist Hawai’i over No. 5 UC Irvine

Apr 3, 2026

Tread Rosenthal’s near-triple double helps hoist Hawai’i over No. 5 UC Irvine

Hawai’i OPP Kristian Titriyski goes for a solo block in the Rainbow Warriors’ five-set win at No. 5 UC Irvine. | Photo Credit: Brock Jones, HSRN

Back causing trouble in the Bren.

The No. 2-ranked University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team outlasted No. 5 UC Irvine (15-4, 3-2 Big West) in an intense five-set battle on Friday night inside the Bren Events Center, seeing setter Tread Rosenthal do a little bit of everything to help lead the way to another road victory, (25-22, 19-25, 23-25, 25-23, 18-16).

Rosenthal tallied 53 assists, 10 digs, nine kills and six blocks in the win as the Rainbow Warriors improved to 8-0 on the road this year, notching his second double-double of the season while eclipsing the half-century mark of assists in a single match for the third time this campaign.

Kristian Titriyski was on the receiving end of 16 of those dishes, leading Hawai’i (22-3, 5-0 Big West) in kills for the sixth time this year while adding eight digs and two of UH’s four total service aces.

Three other Rainbow Warriors finished with double digit kills alongside Titriyski, seeing Louis Sakanoko rack up 14 kills on 30 swings to go with seven digs while Trevell Jordan and Adrien Roure each tacked on 12 kills apiece.

Errors did haunt Hawai’i for a majority of the match, committing 20 on the attack, 19 from the service box and another four on serve-receive. When looking at the razor-thin finish between the teams on the first night, Rosenthal pointed to the lack of sharpness that the Rainbow Warrior unit typically shows.

“I think we all kind of had our own mental lapses,” the junior setter reflected. “At the end of the day, we all brought it back together, we all relied on each other, and we got it done … I think our execution was bad. We’ve just got to execute better [on Saturday].”

Sakanoko struggled from the service line, sending out eight unplayable rally-starters and handing out a trio of faulty attacking swings. Adrien Roure had an up-and-down showing with seven attack errors and three service miscues himself while Kristian Titriyski added six attack errors in his 40 attempts with another three mistakes from the service box.

Rosenthal also had his fair share of faulty moments, committing three attack errors and picking up a red card in the second set for kicking the ball out of frustration after he sent a strike into the net. It was one of two point-scoring infractions called against the Rainbow Warriors throughout the night as Roure picked up his own red card in the third frame after hitting the antenna and smashing the volleyball into the floor out of frustration afterwards.

Hawai’i did take the night’s opening stanza, hitting .517 as a group as Roure got off to a quick start with six kills to pace the visitors. Titriyski tacked on four of his own putdowns, but a net violation was what ultimately secured the first frame for the Rainbow Warriors.

Hawai’i OPP Kristian Titriyski detonates a swing during the Rainbow Warriors’ five-set victory at UC Irvine. | Photo Credit: Brock Jones, HSRN

After a scorching hot first, the encore set saw Hawai’i embark on a rollercoaster ride offensively with as many attack errors as kills midway through the frame. UC Irvine carried over a hot-hitting first set performance, hitting .419 while capitalizing on the free points from UH to knot the match up at one.

The Anteaters took the third frame as well, stunning the Rainbow Warriors with a late rally by scoring four of the final five points in the swing set to go up 2-1 and put UH on the brink of the team’s first Big West loss and road loss at the same time.

Hawai’i answered the bell in the fourth set, forcing eight faulty swings and holding UCI to .152 on the attack in the stanza go to a fifth frame for the just the second time all season.

The Rainbow Warriors raced out to an 8-5 advantage by the flip in the fifth, but the Anteaters would swap the momentum with a 5-0 run to snap themselves ahead by a pair in the decisive set, 13-11.

Hawai’i again had a response, rattling off three in a row to suddenly set up aloha ball on the road before a service error from Kainoa Wade allowed for UC Irvine to take a momentary breath.

The Anteaters fended off two more match points from the Rainbow Warriors behind the heavy swings of Andrej Jokanovic and Trevor Clark, but a service error by UCI’s Micah Goss and a putdown try that skewed wide by Clark helped Hawai’i finally outlast their Big West rivals on the first night of the two-match series, 18-16.

Jokanovic led all players with a game-high 22 kills on 51 swings in the loss for UC Irvine and William D’Arcy tacked on 14 putdowns for the hosts. Goss also finished in double figures, adding 12 kills on 20 swings with seven errors (three service, four attacking) for the Anteaters.

“Every game is a big game now, so honestly we have to keep the momentum,” said UH’s Louis Sakanoko after the hard-fought and – at times – ugly victory. “It’s the Big West now, it’s some big boy things so we just need to win every single game as we can.”

Hawai’i and UC Irvine will rumble for round two on Saturday afternoon with first serve scheduled for 3 p.m. HT / 6 p.m. PT. The Rainbow Warriors are looking to finish the regular season unbeaten on the road for the first time since 2023 when the team went 10-0 away from the Stan Sheriff Center.

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Hawai’i sweeps UC Irvine to open Big West play

Hawai’i sweeps UC Irvine to open Big West play

Mar 1, 2025

Hawai’i sophomore Tread Rosenthal playfully mean mugging after a point by the ‘Bows in a sweep over No. 3 UC Irvine on Friday night. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Hawai’i sweeps UC Irvine to open Big West play

BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED MARCH 1, 2025

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.