TIFF’S TAKEAWAYS FOR #WARRIORBALL26 - WEEK 7
By Tiff Wells
1. Weathering The Waves – After the 2-hour, 53-minute match ended on Wednesday, Tread Rosenthal and Head Coach Charlie Wade talked with one another for a few minutes before walking around courtside to thank the crowd. Nearly all of the major statistics were in the Bows’ favor: kills (58 to 53), hit % (.328 to .270), digs (44 to 39) and blocks (11.5 to 9). However, the most important one (being the match score) went to visitors as Pepperdine snapped a 13-match losing streak in Honolulu while also ending UH’s 11-match win streak with the 3-1 win. Competitors never like to lose but even in the loss, Rosenthal was quick to point out the many positives from both individuals and the team in the 4-set loss. A team that prides itself on serving noted that their service turns late in sets weren’t the greatest and also the fact that they didn’t finish out sets particularly well. UH was right there in Sets 1 (28-26), 2 (25-22) and 4 (30-28). With a day in between matches to watch film and make adjustments, UH’s offense hit another gear while the defense was omnipresent. The Rainbow Warriors outhit the Waves .390 to .263, while holding the advantages again in digs (48 to 33) and blocks (11.5 to 11). The overall passing from first-ball contact was better in night two and while UH did yield 12 aces over the eight sets, that aces per set number for Pepperdine was well below their season average (2.26). Pepperdine came into the UH series hitting over .360 and didn’t reach .300 in either match (.270 on night 1, .263 on night 2). While there is disappointment that the home series resulted in a split, you like the fact that adjustments were made and the team figured out a way to win on night two.
2. Q – ‘Q’ might be the first letter for Quintin, but it also is the first letter in quiet. Pepperdine came to Honolulu as one of the top serving teams in their conference and in the nation. The Waves topped the MPSF and were in the top five nationally with 113 aces, while their 2.25 aces per set average also led their conference and was third best in the nation. Behind Greenidge and their two primary passers (Adrien Roure and Louis Sakanoko), Hawai`i quieted the normally loud service game on both nights as Pepperdine was held to below their aces per set average on the season. Over the eight sets played in the series, Pepperdine had 12 aces (1.5 per set). For Greenidge, he had just one service error in 48 receptions (25-of-25 on night 1, 22-of-23 on night 2). Defensively, UH’s junior libero recorded 23 digs, including a career-best 15 on night two. He also paced a backrow that out-dug the Waves in both matches (44-39 on night 1, 48-33 on night 2) and helped the overall defense to hold Pepperdine (who came into the series hitting over .360) to under a .300 hitting percentage on both nights (.270 on night 1, .263 on night 2). Some may want a loud, boisterous libero but for UH, theirs brings a calming presence to the floor that makes the necessary adjustment when needed. You’ve yet to see back-to-back errors or mistakes from him. An average of 2.3 digs per set on the set, the Hamilton, Ontario native has statistically been one of the best liberos in the country.
3. All Around Tread – He continues to fill up the stat sheet, match in and match out. From Day 1, Tread Rosenthal has held the reigns of the Hawai`i offense and hasn’t looked back. A five-time conference setter of the week award winner in 2026, the junior has also helped the Bows to a Big West Conference tournament championship and a National Semifinal appearance in 2025. Players will say that while the individual awards are a nice achievement, they really are a testament to the team because without the passing and attacking, his assists wouldn’t happen. He, like all of those on this roster, seek the biggest prize…the national championship. Recording his first double-double of the season (42 assists and 13 digs) while adding four blocks and six kills in the Wednesday loss, Rosenthal may have saved his best all around game of the season to date in the Friday rematch. A season-high 56 assists, six kills on eight errorless swings, nine digs, three blocks and a career-high tying four aces, he scored the final two points of the match on kills. His 9-0 serving run on night two in the fourth set gave UH a five-point lead after being down by four. As Hawai`i enters the week of the Outrigger Volleyball Invitational, Rosenthal sits in a tie for seventh all-time in aces (104 with Spyros Chakas) and ninth in assists (2821, 97 shy of tying Jennings Franciskovic). His blocking has improved, as noted with his 43 on the season (.84 per set). His play into the midpoint of the season has the team at 15-2 with a number three national ranking and also…a place amongst those that are being considered for both conference and national player of the year.
4. He Continues To Smile – It was nearly all smiles for the one that has the biggest smile in the sport after the series split with Pepperdine last week. The happy-go-lucky Mesa, Arizona native had to find a new home after his previous school (Grand Canyon) decided to terminate the program following the 2025 season. With some help from fellow Arizonan (Finn Kearney), Jordan traded in the Purple and White of GCU for the Green and White of Hawai`i during the offseason. After a four kill, five block performance in the Wednesday loss to Pepperdine, more consistent passing led to the best match of Jordan’s career so far. With an emphasis to run the middle early and often, Jordan ruled over the two-hour, 51-minute match as he notched a career-high 15 kills on 20 swings to hit .600. He was in on five blocks as UH again out-blocked Pepperdine for the match. After an early season injury that held him out of a couple matches, the sophomore is healthy and has become a problem for the opposition. Averaging .88 blocks per set, Jordan is hitting .515 on the year with a 1.44 kills per set average. With how well the pin hitting trio of Wade, Roure and Sakanoko have done this season, an offensive option (or two) through the middle could prove to be an X-factor for UH moving forward for the rest of the season. Keep on smiling Tre!
5. Mānoa Roofing Company – We’ve heard the countdown a lot this season…1…2…3…”Roof!” Those roof towels have been getting a workout this season as the Hawai`i continues to do quite well. The blocks per set numbers are good enough that UH entered the Pepperdine series top two in the Big West and 10th nationally. The blocks per set numbers for Justin Todd, Tread Rosenthal and Trevell Jordan had them all within the top 10 of the Big West and top 70 nationally. Prior to the Pepperdine series, the previous opponent (BYU) has been traditionally a top 10 blocking team. Hawai`i out-blocked them in both matches. While the total numbers weren’t one-sided (UH won the block advantage 23 to 19), a lot of block deflections helped the backrow to out-dig the Waves (92 to 72). This series also marked the fourth and fifth times this season that UH had recorded double-digit blocks in a match. UH’s overall defense also held the Waves offense (which came in hitting .360) didn’t hit over .300 in either match (.270 on night one, .263 in night two). While stuff blocks are great, the block deflections were just as important for Hawai`i as they earned the series split.
6. Pearl Anniversary Of The Outrigger – The nation’s longest and premier non-conference tournament is back for it’s pearl anniversary. The 30th Outrigger Volleyball Invitational is this week (Thursday-Saturday) and for UH, it represents one final opportunity to boost it’s non-conference resume while giving the chance for its fans to see: a first-time opponent, a former UH player and the team that ended the Rainbow Warriors’ season in 2025. Mount Olive (8-4, 5-1 Conference Carolinas) will make its first OVI appearance in their first ever meeting with UH when the two teams play on Thursday. No Conference Carolinas team has ever won a match in The Outrigger. Friday’s opponent, No. 14 Lewis (12-7, 5-4 MIVA) is 2-20 all-time against UH all-time and the Bows have won the last nine in the series. Former Rainbow Warrior Oguzhan Oguz is now a 6’8” senior opposite but hasn’t played since January 24th. The Flyers make their ninth OVI appearance (9-15 all-time) and seek to become the first MIVA team to win this prestigious tournament. The unanimous No. 1 team in the country is Saturday’s opponent. UCLA (16-0, 5-0) ended UH’s 2025 season in the National Semifinals and did so in a 3-0 fashion. The Bruins will make their 16th OVI appearance, are 37-7 all-time and have won the Invitational nine times. UCLA looks to become the second straight MPSF team (USC in 2025) to win the OVI. It also was announced on March 5th that this Hawai`i/UCLA match is a ticketed issued sellout, which is the 16th in program history and third in the last two seasons.