The University of Hawaiʻi men’s volleyball team is back on top of college volleyball after rallying past UC Irvine in four sets Monday night to capture the program’s third NCAA national championship at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.
The Rainbow Warriors earned redemption after falling to the Beach in the Big West Championship final two weeks ago, winning by set scores of 25-15, 18-25, 25-21, 25-22 to improve to 29-5 on the season.
An expansion of the tournament field from nine teams to 12, it also meant a new bracket format. Out with the quarterfinal/semifinal/final setting and in with four regionals of three teams each. Heading into Selection Sunday, Hawai`i knew they were into the field of 12 for the 2026 National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship.
Tread Rosenthal continues to stack honors after being named the Big West Men’s Volleyball Player of the Year, as selected by the conference’s head coaches.
1. Let’s Dance – Going into its semifinal matchup against fifth seeded UC San Diego last Friday in the 2026 Outrigger Big West Championship presented by The Hawaiian Islands, Hawai`i knew they were in the 2026 National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship field. But why leave NCAA postseason fate in the hands of the committee when you can control your own destiny while other conference tournaments could potentially have a bid stealer here or there?
1. Be Vlad It Happened – For just the third time (2013, 1985) its 48-year program history, senior night for Hawai`i Men’s Volleyball consisted of just one person. Nearly 15,000 UH fans came through the gates for Vlad Weekend.
Senior setter Vladimir Kubr had never stepped onto the Stan Sheriff Center floor in his two years at the University of Hawai‘i. The lone senior spent most of his career supporting from the bench, lifting up younger teammates in their pursuit of a Big West title.
No. 2 University of Hawai‘i dominated No. 18 CSUN in straight sets Friday night at the Stan, clinching the Big West regular season title and securing the No. 1 seed for next week’s conference tournament.
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.
1. Invaded The Bren…Twice – UC Irvine’s motto is “Defend The Bren.” That has been the case it seems against nearly all teams not named Hawai`i. Coming into the week, the Rainbow Warriors had won 10 of their last 11 matches inside The Bren Events Center. Getting off to a hot start to begin the series, UH took the opening set 25-22 as they hit .517 (17-2-29).
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.
After a statement sweep over conference rival Long Beach State men's volleyball, the No. 2-ranked Hawai‘i Rainbow Warriors men's volleyball kept rolling in Big West play, defeating No. 8 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's volleyball in four sets (25-23, 25-18, 19-25, 25-22) at home.
1. One To Remember. The one venue where UH hadn’t seen recent success was the one where they would open up conference play here in 2026. 11 consecutive losses in Long Beach over the last 11 years, the Rainbow Warriors hadn’t won in The Pyramid since February 28th, 2015.
The third-ranked University of Hawai‘i men’s volleyball team delivered a statement performance Saturday night, sweeping No. 2 Long Beach State in straight sets (25-18, 25-22, 25-20) at the Pyramid to complete a dominant Big West road series.
1. Pivot! – The planning begins months in advance, then tweaked here and there as needed once the event gets closer. The nation’s premier non-conference tournament, the second longest running event in the Men’s Volleyball. Three doubleheaders over three consecutive days (Thursday through Saturday) was the plan for the 30th Outrigger Volleyball Invitational.
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.
The No. 3 University of Hawai‘i men’s volleyball team held off No. 7 Pepperdine in a dramatic four-set victory Friday night at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center, earning a split in the two-match nonconference series. Set scores were 25-22, 21-25, 25-15, 36-34.
The match was decided in a marathon fourth set that featured numerous momentum swings and several chances for both teams. Pepperdine had five opportunities to extend the match to a fifth set, while Hawai‘i served for the win eight times before finally closing it out when setter Tread Rosenthal finished the match with a kill.
Late in the decisive fourth set with the score tied at 27, Adrien Roure stepped to the service line.
Despite Pepperdine’s 2-1 set lead, the University of Hawai‘i had been battling back, matching every Wave point with one of their own as the set pushed past the 25-point limit.
Roure tossed the ball and fired a missile to the opponent’s side, finding the back corner of the floor for an ace.
All 5,313 fans inside the Stan Sheriff Center erupted, celebrating Roure’s go-ahead ace that gave Hawai‘i a 28-27 lead in the fourth set and hope of forcing a deciding fifth.
1. Home Sweet Home – January 16th seemed so long ago. Prior to the BYU series added on February 6th after the NIL Tournament was officially cancelled on January 27th, it would have been 47 days since the last Hawai`i home match. In between, UH had: multiple flight cancelations getting to Chicago’s O’Hare airport, an unexpected overnight stay in Chicago, seen multiple inches of snow in Pennsylvania, a team vehicle broken into while having dinner at Stanford and a couple of bye weeks. Lots of credit goes to first-year UH Assistant Coach Donan Cruz as he was the one to scour through opposing schedules to see which team(s) had an open week and eventually reached out to BYU’s Head Coach Shawn Olmstead.
The third-ranked University of Hawaiʻi men’s volleyball team earned a four-set win over No. 6 BYU on Wednesday night at Bankoh Arena, posting a 27-25, 23-25, 25-17, 25-18 victory.
Mahalo to Charlie Wade and special guests Adrien Roure and Louis Sakanoko for joining the Charlie Wade Show on ESPN Honolulu.
1. Fallen Trees Make Loud Noises…Twice – As the age-old question goes, “if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” After a week off and defrosting from the cold Pennsylvania winter weather, the Rainbow Warriors were back on the road again, this time on The Farm at Stanford. The Bows remembered all too well what happened on night two of the series last year in Honolulu when the Cardinal upset Hawai`i in four sets. There wasn’t a sense of payback or needing to atone for what happened last year, last year was last year.
University of Hawai‘i men’s volleyball head coach Charlie Wade has assembled a juggernaut this season. The Warriors are so deep and so dangerous that even the next man up looks like an All-American.
When star opposite hitter Kristian Titriyski went down, Wade turned to a familiar replacement: his son, Kainoa. A former standout at Kamehameha Schools, Wade stepped into the lineup and delivered in a big way, racking up 44 kills and 55 points while earning Big West Offensive Player of the Week and AVCA National Player of the Week honors.
1. Adversity From The Get Go – Winter Storm Fern didn’t care if this was UH’s first trip to the Northeast in quite some time. Two separate flight itineraries were cancelled due to weather. Eventually, they got a non-stop flight to Chicago where...another weather delay forced them to stay the night in the area. The Rainbow Warriors eventually landed in The Quaker State Tuesday afternoon, a day later than originally planned and some 28 hours before their first match. The first ever trip to Loretto, PA included snow flurries and an outside temperature of three degrees at first serve against Saint Francis.
In a reprise of an all-day doubleheader, the University of Hawaiʻi Rainbow Warrior volleyball team showcased both its depth and dominance, going undefeated against Division II opponents Rockhurst and Roberts Wesleyan.
Hawaiʻi swept Rockhurst (25-19, 25-9, 25-15) in the morning match before closing out the day with another straight-set win over Roberts Wesleyan (25-22, 25-22, 25-20).
For the first time in Hawai‘i, the University of Hawai‘i Rainbow Warrior men’s volleyball team hosted a doubleheader, defeating Division II opponents Roberts Wesleyan University Redhawks (25-21, 25-17, 25-16) and Rockhurst University Hawks (25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 25-13).
The Rainbow Warriors started the doubleheader at 11 a.m. against the Redhawks, rolling out a lineup of underclassmen led by sophomore outside hitter Kainoa Wade, who turned in a career-high 21 kills and five digs on a .514 hitting percentage.
In a pivotal fourth set, junior outside hitter Louis Sakanoko lined up for a kill attempt off a second-ball set from junior setter Tread Rosenthal.
The No. 2 ranked University of Hawaiʻi Rainbow Warriors men’s volleyball team had swept No. 7 Loyola Chicago the night prior, but the Ramblers came out reenergized in the rematch. After dropping the first two sets, Hawaiʻi mounted a late rally in the fourth, looking to force a decisive fifth set.
As 5,685 fans rose to their feet in set three at the Bank of Hawai‘i Arena inside the Stan Sheriff Center, the University of Hawai‘i men’s volleyball team prepared to receive the serve from NJIT, already holding a commanding 24–14 lead.
The Rainbow Warriors (1-0) controlled the first two sets, defeating the Highlanders (0-1) by margins of 14 and 11 in sets one and two, and looked to close out NJIT for a clean sweep in the opening match of the 2026 season.
The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa men’s volleyball program has added a major name to its coaching staff. Maui native and former Ball State head coach Donan Cruz has been named an assistant coach under head coach Charlie Wade, following the departure of long-time assistant Milan Zarkovic to UCLA.