LONG BEACH, Calif. — The third-ranked University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team ended a decade-long drought in one of college volleyball's most hostile environments on Friday night, pulling out a grueling five-set victory over No. 2 Long Beach State at the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid. Set scores were 26-24, 23-25, 25-19, 20-25, and 15-12.
The victory marked the Rainbow Warriors' first triumph in Long Beach since 2015, snapping an 11-match losing streak on the Beach's home floor. The highly anticipated matchup between the defending Big West regular-season champion (Beach) and the tournament champion (UH) lived up to the hype, played before a sold-out crowd and a postseason-caliber atmosphere. A large Hawai'i cheering section rose at match point to celebrate the critical Big West opening win.
Kristian Titriyski led the way for UH in his return to the starting lineup. The Sofia, Bulgaria native tallied a team-high 13 kills, adding five digs and four blocks. With the match hanging in the balance in the fifth set—the first time UH has played five sets this season—Titriyski's massive serving turn, which included a clutch ace, shifted the momentum and allowed UH to pull ahead late.
Louis Sakanoko contributed eight kills, one ace, four digs, and a block before being forced to leave the match in the third set due to injury.
Finn Kearney replaced him in the lineup and remained productive, tallying five kills, one dig, and a block. Hawai'i's dominance at the net proved to be the difference, as the Rainbow Warriors out-blocked the Beach 12.5 to 7.5.
Trevell Jordan and
Tread Rosenthal each recorded five blocks, with Rosenthal also contributing a season-high seven kills despite battling severe cramping.
The opening set was defined by UH's block and costly service errors by the Beach. A Rosenthal-Jordan double block—the Warriors' third of the set—pushed the lead to 18-15. Sakanoko's fifth kill of the frame gave UH a 23-20 advantage, and the Warriors eventually reached set point following a triple block. Although the Beach erased three set points to tie it, a kill by Rosenthal followed by a
Justin Todd ace secured the set 26-24.
Hawai'i maintained control for the first half of Set 2 until the Beach took its first lead at 15-14. LBSU surged ahead 20-17 following a block on Jordan. A Sakanoko ace pulled the Warriors within one, and a subsequent attack error by Varga briefly gave UH a 22-21 lead. However, the Beach took over from there, scoring four of the final five points to even the match at 25-23.
In Set 3, the Rainbow Warriors regained their composure behind an efficient .350 hitting percentage. UH jumped out to an early 7-3 lead and never trailed, benefiting from several Long Beach attack errors.
Adrien Roure and Titriyski provided steady offense, while the UH block recorded six stuffs in the frame to keep the Beach hitting at a dismal .065. An ace by Roure pushed the lead to 17-11, and the Warriors cruised to a 25-19 win to go up 2-1 in the match.
The Beach responded in Set 4, fueled by the play of Wojciech Gajek, who finished with a match-high 22 kills. Long Beach jumped out to a 4-0 lead and maintained the advantage throughout the set as UH's hitting cooled to .095. Despite late kills from Kearney and Titriyski to close the gap, the Beach hit .348 as a team and forced a decisive fifth set with a 25-20 victory.
The final set saw both teams battling through fatigue and cramping in front of a standing crowd. With the score tied 8-8, Titriyski went to the service line and sparked a 3-0 run, including a service ace that forced a Long Beach timeout. The Beach managed to close within one point at 12-11, but Titriyski answered with a kill out of the back row. After a Long Beach service error gave UH match point, Titriyski slammed home his 13th kill of the night to seal the 15-12 victory and end the decade-long drought.
The teams play again on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. PT.
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