Never before had a University of Hawai'i baseball team put together a ninth inning quite like the Rainbow Warriors' final turn at bat on March 30 in Northridge, Calif.
Chasing six runs with three outs left in the series finale at CSUN, the 'Bows hammered out a record-setting 10-run explosion in a 14-10 comeback victory that gave them the series win and drew
national attention.
The rally was the latest, and perhaps most dramatic, example of Rainbow resilience in a 2024-25 UH sports calendar already highlighted by memorable comebacks crafted by teams throughout the athletic department. (Listed in chronological order)
Women's Volleyball at UC San Diego
Oct. 4, 2024; La Jolla, Calif.
The Deficit: Down 2-0 after two sets
Final: Hawai'i 3, UCSD 2 (13-25, 18-25, 25-14, 25-12, 15-10)
The Comeback: The Rainbow Wahine hit .000 with 15 attack errors through the first two sets then stormed back to hit .421 with just six errors over the next three in the victory over the Tritons. Caylen Alexander came off the bench to lead UH with 24 kills and Stella Adeyemi went 4-for-6 without an error in the fifth set to help the 'Bows complete their second reverse sweep of the season.
Soccer at UC Santa Barbara
Oct. 27, 2024: Santa Barbara, Calif.
The Deficit: Down 1-0 with 22 minutes left
Final: Hawai'i 2, UCSB 1
The Comeback: Trailing by a goal deep into the second half, Fabiola Zamora scored the equalizer in the 68
th minute. With less than eight minutes remaining, Zamora served a free kick in front of the goal and freshman Nalani Damacion scored on a header for her program-record tying seventh game-winning goal of the season. With their third comeback win of the season, the Rainbow Wahine secured the program's first Big West regular-season championship.
Football at Fresno State
Nov. 2, 2024; Fresno Calif.
The Deficit: Trailing 20-7, end of the third quarter
Final: Hawai'i 21, Fresno State 20
The Comeback: Nick Cenacle caught two touchdown passes from Brayden Schager in the fourth quarter to lead the Warriors to their largest comeback victory since 2021, also against Fresno State. Cenacle's 3-yard TD reception marked a personal comeback as well after losing a fumble earlier in the quarter. UH's defense helped fuel the rally by limiting the Bulldogs to 52 yards of total offense in the second half.
Men's Volleyball vs. Harvard
Jan. 10, 2025; SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
The Deficit: Down 14-11 in the fifth set
Final: Hawai'i 3, Harvard 2 (25-17, 25-27, 25-15, 21-25, 16-14)
The Comeback: The visiting Crimson appeared poised to pull off their own stunning comeback in forcing a fifth set and earning three match points against the Warriors. UH fought off the first on a kill by Justin Todd. Finn Kearney entered as a serving sub and put together a four-point turn from the line in a 5-0 UH run punctuated by Todd's block on aloha ball.
Men's Volleyball at BYU
Jan. 31, 2025; Provo, Utah
The Deficit: Down 2-1 in the match; 8-4 in the fifth set
The Final: Hawai'i 3, BYU 2 (20-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-16, 22-20)
The Comeback: Before a raucous crowd at Smith Fieldhouse, the host Cougars took a 2-1 lead into the fourth set before the Warriors stormed back to force a fifth. UH survived six match points in a marathon fifth set before ending the match with a 3-0 run. Kristian Titriyski erased BYU's sixth attempt to close out the match, Tread Rosenthal followed with an ace and Titriyski's 20
th kill finished off the UH victory.
Water Polo vs. Fresno State
Feb. 1, 2025; La Jolla, Calif.
The Deficit: Down 6-2 at halftime
Final: Hawai'i 11, Fresno State 10 (OT)
The Comeback: The Rainbow Wahine gave up five goals in the opening period and were shutout in the second to go into halftime down by four in the Triton Invitational. Jordan Wedderburn sparked the rally with two goals in the third quarter and UH trailed 8-6 going into the fourth. The 'Bows went on a 3-0 run late in the fourth to take the lead before the Bulldogs tied it to force overtime. The teams traded goals in OT and Roni Perlman scored the eventual game-winner with 1:53 left in the second period of overtime to help UH earn the program's 500th win.
Women's Basketball vs. UC Santa Barbara
Feb. 8, 2025; SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
The Deficit: Down
26-7 after the first quarter
Final: Hawai'i 65, UCSB 58
The Comeback: The Rainbow Wahine surrendered 10 made field goals in the first 10 minutes, but held the Gauchos to just 10 more buckets over the remainder of the game to erase the 19-point deficit, the largest overcome in a victory in program history. Mia 'Uhila scored 15 of her career-high 23 points in the third quarter. The 'Bows nearly pulled off an even bigger comeback by erasing a 27-point deficit in the Big West Championship semifinals against UC San Diego before falling on a last-second layup.
Softball at Cal State Fullerton
March 29, 2025; Fullerton, Calif.
The Deficit: Trailing 2-0 in the fourth inning, 2-1 in the seventh
Final: Hawai'i 6, Cal State Fullerton 2
The Comeback: The Rainbow Wahine snapped a 13-game losing streak in Fullerton in the series opener and their attempt to win the series was down to the final three outs in the rubber game. Two singles and a sacrifice bunt set the stage for Liliana Thomas' two-run go-ahead double. The 'Bows went on to send 11 batters to the plate in a five-run outburst and claimed a series on the Titans' home field for the first time since 2015.
Baseball at CSUN
March 30, 2025; Northridge, Calif.
The Deficit: Down 10-4 in the ninth inning
Final: Hawai'i 14, CSUN 10
The Comeback: Trailing by six going into their final turn at bat, the 'Bows launched three home runs in a 10-run explosion to stun the Matadors. Draven Nushida sparked the rally with a grand slam and Shunsuke Sakaino tied the game with a two-run blast. Matthew Miura's double scored Jordan Donahue with the go-ahead run followed by Jared Quandt's RBI single. Kamana Nahaku put the finishing touches on the comeback with this third homer of the game and fifth of the series on his way to earning Big West and national Player of the Week honors.
Water Polo vs. UC Irvine
April 5, 2025; Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex
The Deficit: Down 7-4 in the third quarter
Final: Hawai'i 16, UC Irvine 11 (OT)
The Comeback: In a back-and-forth battle for first place in the Big West, UC Irvine scored two unanswered goals to close the second quarter and added two more after halftime to take a 7-4 lead at the 6:09 mark of the third period. The Rainbow Wahine refused to let the rival Anteaters spoil senior night by putting together a 3-0 run with Jordan Wedderburn tying the match with 1:06 left in the third. The teams traded four goals each in the fourth quarter with UC Irvine scoring with less than a second left to force overtime. Wedderburn's third goal of the night sparked a 5-0 run in overtime to power the 'Bows to the win and set the stage for the Senior Night celebration.
Men's Volleyball vs. Long Beach State
April 12, 2025; SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
The Deficit: 2-1 in the match
Final: Hawai'i 3, Long Beach State 2 (21-25, 25-20, 18-25, 25-19, 15-13)
The Comeback: A night after falling in four sets to the top-ranked Beach, the Rainbow Warriors hit another lull in a 25-18 loss in the third set of the senior night rematch. Energized by a second straight sellout crowd, the Warriors put together a 4-0 run midway through the fourth set on their way to forcing a fifth. A resounding solo block by Kurt Nusterer gave UH an 11-8 lead in the race to 15 before the Beach rallied to tie the set at 12-12. After the teams traded sideouts, Louis Sakanoko's shot landed on the endline and was upheld following a review that only amplified the drama. Sakanoko then ended a rally on aloha ball with a roll shot into the middle of the court to set off a wild celebration leading into the senior festivities.
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