TIFF’S TAKEAWAYS FOR #WARRIORBALL26 - WEEK 12

By Tiff Wells

1. One Learning Moment – 2021 Hawai`i. 2019 Long Beach State. Those are the only two years that have seen a Big West Conference team run the conference season unblemished since the BWC became the first Division I conference to sanction Men’s Volleyball beginning with the 2018 season. When the conference schedule came out and Hawai`i had to play 2-match series at Long Beach State, at UC Irvine and at UC San Diego, there weren’t a lot of people out there that had the Rainbow Warriors playing into the month of April with an undefeated conference record. History of playing in Long Beach wasn’t on UH’s side as they hadn’t won there since 2015 (lost previous 11). Even with losing key players, UC Irvine would be another tough place to play at. With two consecutive weeks of road matches (with UH flying home in-between), playing at UC San Diego has been tough in recent years for the Rainbow Warriors as there were series splits in La Jolla in both 2024 and 2022. Conference road wins are tough and winning those conference road matches in straight sets are even tougher, yet UH had managed to sweep both Long Beach State and UC Irvine on the second night of those two-match series. A 90-minute, 3-0 sweep on night 1 at UCSD improved UH to 7-0 in conference play and a perfect 10-0 in road matches. Night two normally sees the team that lost on the first night come out more desperate and making more adjustments. After 12 hitting errors and 17 service errors in the first match, the Tritons made two changes to their starting lineup for night two and applied more consistent pressure from the service line that had the normally sound Hawai`i serve receive on their heels and not playing their usual self. Even with a plus 15 dig advantage (31-16), UH was outhit (.327 to .298) and outblocked (15-6) in their first road loss of the year. The Bows also gave up a season-high nine aces. Upsets happen all the time in sports and while it might be surprising to some that the first conference loss came against UC San Diego, recent history showed playing at LionTree Arena hadn’t been all that favorable for Hawai`i. As the coaching staff has said, this conference is one of the best (if not the best) in the country and you must bring it every night. One loss isn’t the end of the world and this season has shown us that Hawai`i is 3-0 following a loss. The ability to play better and bounce back from a loss has been proven and to maintain their lead in conference, UH must do it again this Friday against CSUN.

2. Two Magic Numbers – Coming into the UCSD series, Hawai`i had a magic number of 2. In the drivers seat at 6-0 and two matches clear of Long Beach State in the loss column, two wins over fifth-place UC San Diego would have given Hawai`i a share of their third Big West Conference regular season title and more importantly, the number one overall seed in The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2026 Outrigger Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship. Being the number one overall seed would give UH a first-round bye in addition to being placed on the opposite side of both Long Beach State and UC Irvine in the bracket. Also of note, the champion of the conference tournament has either been the 1 or 2 seed. After winning on Friday, that number was reduced to one. With Saturday’s upset loss coupled with Long Beach State’s win at UC Santa Barbara, the Rainbow Warriors (7-1) are now a game up on LBSU (6-2) in the conference standings. In this final week of the conference regular season, Hawai`i hosts CSUN for two matches while Long Beach State plays rival UC Irvine in a home and home. There are two magic numbers for Hawai`i this week. 1 win gives UH a share of the conference regular season title and the 1 seed in the conference tournament. 2 wins would mean outright conference regular season champions in the Big West for just the second time (and first since 2021). Also, a combination of Hawai`i wins and Long Beach State losses would keep the Bows at the top of the conference standings. But with the work that UH has put in during Big West play earlier this year, the Bows now have a chance to clinch the regular season at home.

3. Bench Mob Run – It wasn’t the typical starting lineup for UH against UCSD on both nights. With how quick the Tritons run their offense, Hawai`i started Ofeck Hazan in place of Trevell Jordan. In his seventh start of the season, Hazan scored two kills on three swings and was in on four of the eight UH blocks. Earning the start again on night two, the Israeli sophomore put down six kills on eight swings. With Adrien Roure struggling on night one (three kills, hitting -.091), Finn Kearney was brought in for Set 3 and performed well. The Arizona native went 4-for-6 hitting and received seven serves with zero errors. Kainoa Wade’s service turn in Set 3 on Night 1 proved to be the different as his 4-0 turn gave UH the lead for good in the frame, ultimately leading Hawai`i to the 3-0 win. Wade would also add two aces and bring energy to the Rainbow Warriors side in Set 2 on night two. Warmups on night two were a lot different as both Justin Todd and Tread Rosenthal didn’t participate. A hand injury to Todd in warmups and an undisclosed injury to Trevell Jordan sometime in Set 1 paved the way for Alex Parks to make just his third appearance of #WarriorBall26. While the Maryknoll alum didn’t see a set come his way in the final three sets, his four blocks in Set 2 (2 solo, 2 assisted) helped Hawai`i tie the match at 1. The biggest (both figuratively and literally) change to the lineup came at setter. An illness to setter Tread Rosenthal had him as a late scratch to the starting lineup. Making just his second start at setter as a Rainbow Warrior, Magnus Hettervik recorded 29 assists, seven digs, one ace, one dig and a kill. He piloted UH to a .556 offense in Set 2 (hit .200 in Set 1) and was subbed out at 22-17 in Set 3. Injuries and illness for Hawai`i, coupled with the overall play from UCSD saw the Bows leave La Jolla with their third consecutive series split.

4. Semifinalist Tread – A member of the 9-player Big West Conference Preseason Coaches Team, this season has seen a lot for Tread Rosenthal. Six consecutive Big West Setter of the Week awards (10 overall on the season). One conference Defensive Player of the Week award. He’s risen to No. 6 all-time at Hawai`i in all-time assists and his two aces on night one at UCSD has him also 6th all-time in program history. Named to the 15-player 2026 AVCA National Collegiate Men’s Player of the Year Award Watch List (along with Adrien Roure), this past Tuesday saw Rosenthal named as one of the eight semifinalists for the award. The final watch list of four players will come out before the National Tournament begins as the National Player of the Year will be announced prior to the National Semifinals. He’s also played through minor injuries that just come with being a full-time starter. While an illness prevented him from making the start in night two at UC San Diego, it didn’t keep him out of the match as he entered late in Set 3 and finished the match.

5. One Final Homestand Awaits? – What originally was a 17-match home schedule, became 19 after the BYU two-match series was added in February due to the late January cancelation of the NIL Tournament that was supposed to take place in Anaheim in mid-February. Senior week is now here for the Rainbow Warriors and it will be a very short ceremony come Saturday evening. Just one player will be honored and it’s reserve setter Vladimir Kubr. He’s appeared in two matches over his two-year Rainbow Warrior career, both coming at home during the season. A lot on the line for Hawai`i at home, including opportunities to clinch the conference tournament 1-seed and a share of the regular season title (two wins over CSUN gives UH the title outright). While you’d like to give Kubr a chance to play on his senior night, first order of business is to bounce back from Saturday’s loss at UCSD with the penultimate regular season home match. UH is 14-3 at home this season, but are these the final two home matches of #WarriorBall26? As the NCAA announced a 12-team field for its 2026 National Championship last fall, there are now four regionals, each with three teams. We do know Hawai`i has put in a bid to host and Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center is available that weekend (May 1-2). Being a top-4 seed doesn’t necessarily mean you get to host a regional and Hawai`i fans know all too well over the years how the NCAA has treated UH in the postseason. We will know for sure who’s hosting and what 12 teams comprise the field when the bracket is quickly announced on Sunday, April 26th. With a possible Honolulu Regional in the balance come Week 1 in May, the definite is two home matches this week Friday and Saturday. Not too many tickets are available for this top-2 team and senior nights on the island are always special. No one does a senior night like the state of Hawai`i.

6. A Look Ahead – One week left in the regular season and only one seed in the Big West conference tournament is finalized. We know CSUN (0-8) will be the 6-seed and playing on First-Round Thursday. UC Santa Barbara (4-5) plays UC San Diego (3-6) with the 4th and 5th seed at stake. The trio of Hawai`i (7-1), Long Beach State (6-2) and UC Irvine (5-3) will in some order be the top three seeds. A home and home rivalry series between Long Beach State and UC Irvine highlights the final week of conference play. Nothing is a guarantee, as noted with Hawai`i falling at UC San Diego this past weekend. UC Irvine will host the conference tournament April 23-25 as it’s the first time since 2023 all six teams will head to The Bren Events Center to determine the conference tournament champion. 14-4 against the Top 20 (pending two matches against CSUN, who was ranked 18th last week), an RPI of 2, a KPI of 2, the metrics are there for Hawai`i to feel confident about their inclusion into the NCAA Tournament. But why leave an at-large chance in the hands of the committee when you can get the automatic bid by winning the conference tournament? The MPSF sees their conference topped by Pepperdine (11-1) and UCLA (10-1) with BYU hosting the conference tournament. In the MIVA, Ball State (13-3) won their 24th conference regular season title are the 1-seed in the conference tournament. Highest remaining seeds host the semifinals and final, meaning the Cardinals could be playing at home in all conference tournament matches. At 10-0, Penn State tops the EIVA and is in prime position to host the 6-team conference tournament. Conference Carolinas start their conference tournament on the 15th with Belmont Abbey (13-1) as the regular season champion. They will host the semifinals and final. With one week left in the NEC regular season, Saint Francis (8-2) has a 1-game lead over FDU (7-3). Their four-team conference tournament starts on the 24th with the final hosted by the highest remaining seed. SIAC regular season champion Fort Valley State (8-0) is the top seed in the conference tournament that begins later this week. 4th seeded Edwards Waters is the tournament host. Each of those seven conference tournament champions will earn automatic bids and the field will be filled by the five-person selection committee with five at-large bids. Best way to not sweat out Selection Sunday is by winning your conference tournament and the automatic bid that comes with it. While you don’t want to leave anything to chance with the committee, many feel that even with the loss this past Saturday at UC San Diego, Hawai`i is still firmly in the field. But to have a case to be a top four seed and host an NCAA Regional, the best way to do that is to keep winning. A lot of volleyball is left between now and Selection Sunday, but the opportunities are there to present the committee with a top 3 rating in both the RPI and KPI, in addition to regular season and conference tournament champions. The first step along that road for Hawai`i begins on Friday at home against CSUN.