TIFF’S TAKEAWAYS FOR #WARRIORBALL26 - WEEK 10

By Tiff Wells

1. G.S.T.L. – One of the many phrases most commonly used by Head Coach Charlie Wade is Great Service Turns Late or G.S.T.L. Perhaps the most important service turn this weekend came in the opening set of Friday’s match…from a Middle Blocker. After a Kristian Titriyski kill cut UH’s deficit to 21-23, Justin Todd went to the service line. Normally you’d want your Middle to just keep the serve in play. But then again, Todd isn’t your normal player in that position. The Redshirt Sophomore never relinquished his service turn. In between a Louis Sakanoko kill and two UC Santa Barbara timeouts, JT served three aces to give UH the opening frame 25-23. A pair of 4-0 scoring runs from Kristian Titriyski and Adrien Roure (including three consecutive aces) helped Hawai`i separate in the second set for a 25-18 victory and take a commanding 2-0 match led. Overall on night one, the Rainbow Warriors were the better serving team. Nine aces and 10 service errors, UH served in bounds at .892%, while UCSB had six aces and 15 errors (12 of them coming in the final two sets) and served in bounds at .831. Less than 24 hours later, the efficient serving was even better. For the first time all season long, Hawai`i had more aces (9) than errors (7). Both of Finn Kearney’s aces came in the first set as UH set the tone for the match early on. For the match, Hawai`i served in bounds at a .905 percentage (also the first time this year UH served in bounds over 90%). Also fitting that the Rainbow Warriors ended the match (and the series) with an ace (from Tread Rosenthal). Roure had five aces in the series, while Louis Sakanoko led all UH players with six in 28 serves, while having only three errors.

2. Held Serve At Home – Sweep at home and at minimum, split on the road. Do that and you give yourself a chance to be in the top half of the conference with a possible shot at the title. After recording their first regular season series sweep at Long Beach State since 2015 and having a probable top five opponent (UC Irvine) again on the road in two weeks time, it was important to not overlook No. 8 UC Santa Barbara for the first conference series at home this season. After taking a 2-0 lead on night one, UH was forced into a fourth set after having the third set be one of their lowest offensive outputs of the season. Despite hitting .219 (their 2nd lowest of the season) for the match, UH won the other statistical categories to grind out a four set win, a win that was the 400th for the program inside Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Outside of Set 2 (UH led 18-10, won the set 25-22), the Rainbow Warriors were never really threatened on night two. In front of almost 7,000 fans, Hawai`i beat UC Santa Barbara at home for a 14th consecutive time. In Big West conference home matches, UH is now 33-5. After four conference matches, UH is alone at the top with a 4-0 record and are the only team unblemished in Big West play. The Rainbow Warriors are 14-3 at home this season with two (maybe three) home matches left.

3. All Out Defense – UH has had one of the top offenses in the country all season long but the series with UCSB was about the Rainbow Warrior defense. It started in the first set on night one with five digs from…Kristian Titriyski. Reigning BWC Defensive Player of the Week Quintin Greenidge added eight digs, as did Louis Sakanoko. As a team, UH outdug UCSB 45-43. For the first time in his career, Titriyski logged double-digit digs (12). The Gauchos came into the week as top digging team in the conference and felt if they could get timely offense, they could maybe grind out a win in the series. Ultimately, they were outdug in both matches (45-43, 27-19). UH’s block showed up as they recorded double-digit blocks (10.5) for the eighth time this season, en route to the win. Justin Todd tied a career-high seven blocks as Titriyski and Tread Rosenthal each added four. Adrien Roure paced UH with four blocks on night two as again, Hawai`i outblocked the Gauchos once again, this time 7.5-3.5 as UCSB hit a season-low .188.

4. Extra Krispy – With the return of Kristian Titriyski from the injured list, Hawai`i is back to its original starting lineup. Six kills and five digs in Set 1 on Night 1 paved the way for a career night. The Bulgarian led all attackers with 18 kills (including the match winner) and added 12 digs (also a match-high) for his first career double-double. Playing loose and with joy, Titriyski was a big reason why Hawai`i remained unbeaten in conference play. With the Gauchos keying in on Adrien Roure again, Titryiski added 11 kills in the 3-0 sweep on night two. Since returning to the starting lineup four matches ago, this sophomore has hit over .250 twice but has stated well in other categories to be more than just a hitter. It has also allowed UH to move Kainoa Wade back into a server sub role with Finn Kearney. Both have performed well and given UH boosts of energy and offense in different parts of the last four matches.

5. Tread Tracker – After receiving the Big West Conference Setter of the Week for a fourth straight time, Tread Rosenthal has won the award eight times this season and 13 times in his career. It’s also his 20th overall conference award. With his series ending ace on Saturday, he’s now at 107 for his career. Sitting in seventh place all-time, he’s one shy of tying Delano Thomas for sixth with Jakob Thelle holding the program record (122). After this weekend, he’s moved up to sixth in assists (3081), passing Lyman Lacro in the process. Roughly 350 assists away from fifth (Nejc Zemljak, 3449), UH has six regular season matches left in addition to multiple postseason dates. It’s not out of the realm of possibilities with how productive this offense is for Rosenthal to reach Zemljak or go on a serving roll to near (or pass Thelle) before #WarriorBall26 comes to an end.

6. Middles By Committee – It’s not depth if you don’t use it. Another common phrase used by Head Coach Charlie Wade. He has four active middles while his fifth, freshman Roman Payne continues to deal with lingering foot issues. Alex Parks continues to help the other three get better each day in practice. Each of the three brings a unique skillset that has allowed them to all be in the mix as a starter and each are more than capable of taking over sets and matches in a variety of ways. Trevell Jordan started Friday and had three kills and a block. He also served in bounds all 11 times he went to the line. Giving way to Ofeck Hazan in the starting lineup for Saturday, Jordan came in off the bench in Set 3 and added a kill and two blocks to close out the Gauchos. Justin Todd helped Hawai`i steal the first set (25-23) in night one with all three of his aces coming in his four-point service turn. He added five kills and tied his career-high with seven blocks. After UH lost Set 3 on night 1, Ofeck Hazan was inserted into the starting lineup for the fourth. Bringing energy to the taraflex, the Israeli had a kill and a block. And with how well he’s practiced, he was rewarded with his sixth start of the season and didn’t disappoint. A season-high six kills on seven errorless swings, he hit .857 and added a block. All three got numerous soft blocks that held UCSB to hitting .214 (79-34-205) for the weekend and their skillsets will all continue to be needed in this second half of the season.

7. 100K Bankoh – The mecca of Collegiate Men’s Volleyball is Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Since opening in 1994 and being the home for UH Men’s Volleyball beginning with the 1995 season, UH has led the nation in attendance 26 times and will do so again for a 27th time here in 2026. This past Friday was the 10th time that UH has gone over 100,000 in fan attendance. 17 matches in and the average attendance for a #WarriorBall26 home match is 6,454. As a whole, UH has seen 109,719 come through the gates. UH fans love their volleyball like no one else in the country and it’s to the surprise of no one why the eighth (six starters plus one for the libero) man has helped to create a real home atmosphere that has been tough for opponents to win in. The all-time record for UH inside Bankoh is now 401-121 and since the start of the 2017 season, UH is 145-17 at home. “Not Many Left” is the designation when looking at tickets for the CSUN homestand, which for now is the final two home matches of the season. UH has already had one ticketed issued sellout (UCLA on 3/14) for the 16th in program history and are nearing a 17th (and possibly 18th) and with the NCAA expanding the tournament field to 12 teams (four regional sites with three teams each), a Honolulu Regional is a possibility which would give Hawai`i an additional home match.