LA JOLLA, Calif. — The second-ranked University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team saw its 10-match road winning streak come to a halt on Saturday night, falling to No. 13 UC San Diego in four sets (21-25, 25-16, 20-25, 18-25) at LionTree Arena. Despite the setback, the Rainbow Warriors remain in a strong position to win the Big West title as they return home to Honolulu to close out the regular season.
 
Hawai'i (24-4, 7-1 BWC) faced significant lineup challenges before first serve. All-American setter Tread Rosenthal was sidelined for much of the match, eventually entering late in the third set before finishing the contest Regular starting middle Justin Todd did not play and fellow middle Trevell Jordan only saw action in one set. Backup setter Magnus Hettervik earned his second start of the season in Rosenthal's absence, recording 29 assists and seven digs.
 
Kristian Titriyski led the Rainbow Warrior attack with 18 kills, five digs, two blocks, and one service ace. Louis Sakanoko contributed 15 kills, four digs, and one ace, while Ofeck Hazan was a bright spot in the middle, hammering six kills on a .625 hitting percentage. Alex Parks provided a defensive spark off the bench, recording four blocks, all in the third set. As a team, Hawai'i hit .298, marking just the fifth time this season they have hit under .300.
 
UCSD (12-12, 3-6 BWC) was powered by Sebastiano Sani, who recorded 18 kills, five blocks, and two aces. Josh Ewert added 10 kills and a match-high five aces. The Tritons' defense was the deciding factor, out-blocking the Warriors 15.0 to 6.0.
 
The loss marked the third straight trip to La Jolla that the Warriors split the two-match series with the Tritons.
 
The opening set was a tightly contested affair that saw UH tie the score at 11-11 before a Sakanoko ace briefly gave the Warriors a 16-15 lead. However, the Tritons responded with a run ignited by consecutive Cameron Wurl aces to take a 23-19 advantage and secure the set 25-21.
 
Hawai'i found its rhythm in the second set, hitting a blistering .556. Titriyski fueled a 4-1 run to put UH ahead 12-8, and Parks dominated at the net with a solo block and additional stuffs to extend the lead to 21-14. An ace by Titriyski helped cap the dominant 25-16 frame to even the match.
 
In the third set, the Tritons erased an early Hawai'i lead with a five-point surge to go up 8-6. While UH pulled within one at 16-15, UCSD utilized four aces and four blocks in the frame to pull away for a 25-20 win. The final set was hindered by early UH errors, allowing the Tritons to jump out to a 7-2 lead. The deficit grew to 19-12 following a 5-1 UCSD run, and the Tritons hit .550 in the set to close out the victory.
 
The Rainbow Warriors return to the Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center next week for their final regular-season series against CSUN on April 17 and 18.