HONOLULU –  The University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team heads to Japan for a nine-day Ganbatte Aloha Tour, Nov. 8-16, which begins in Osaka and ends in Tokyo. 

Follow the team on social media as they tour Japan:
X - @HawaiiMensVB
IG - @HawaiiMVB
Threads - @HawaiiMVB
Facebook - @HawaiiMensVB
 
The international trip marks UH's first since it also traveled to Japan on a goodwill tour in 2018. The tour will include a scrimmage against the Sakai Blazers, a club team that features former Rainbow Warrior Cole Hogland and another match against the University of Tsukuba, winners of last year's Japan national championship, which is billed as the "Hawai'i Future Cup."
 
The Sakai match is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 11 at Sakai Gymnasium while the Tsukuba match is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 15 at the University of Tsukuba. For ticket information for the Tsukuba match, click here. 
 
In addition to volleyball, the Rainbow Warriors are scheduled for sightseeing throughout Osaka and Tokyo and community service trips to an elderly care home and nursing school in Tsukuba. The team will also meet the City of Tsukuba vice mayor and experience cultural activities at the University of Tsukuba.
 
The Rainbow Warriors return nine lettermen and three starters from a team that advanced to the NCAA Championship match for the fourth consecutive year. Middle blocker Guilherme Voss and outside hitters Spyros Chakas and Chaz Galloway all earned AVCA All-America honors last season. Other notable returnees include middle blocker Kurt Nusterer, opposite Alaka'i Todd, libero 'Eleu Choy, and serving specialist Keoni Thiim.
 
Among the newcomers include Lewis transfer Kevin Kauling, freshman Tread Rosenthal, the setter on the United States U19 team, Aleksa Mandic of Serbia, Oguzhan Oguz of Turkey, and a trio of Moanalua High School graduates Kai Rodriguez, Justin Todd, and Zachary Yewchuk.
 
UH is scheduled to open the 2024 season in early January.