The Stan Sheriff Center at the University of Hawaii at Manoa witnessed an electrifying turnaround as the No. 4 ranked Hawaii men’s volleyball team staged a remarkable comeback to defeat No. 1 Long Beach State. The five-set saga ended in a nail-biting 21-25, 25-20, 18-25, 25-19, 15-13 victory for the home side, as reported by Spectrum Local News. In the highly charged home finale on Saturday night, 9,771 fans filled the stands to capacity, eagerly supporting the Warriors in a win that tied them with Long Beach State for first place in the Big West conference standings.
Despite Long Beach State's freshman setter Moni Nikolov, who leads the nation in aces, being held without an ace for the second consecutive night, the Beach still managed to rally and tie the match late in Set 5. It wasn't enough, however, to hold off the Warriors, who were led by Louis Sakanoko’s final two decisive kills. "Sakanoko struck once more and the UH bench rushed the court," detailed the match's climax, according to a Spectrum Local News report.
With the regular season nearing its end, Hawaii's record improved to 23-4, level with Long Beach State's 24-2, both teams having a 6-2 conference record. The scoreboard's tale was one of grit and determination as Hawaii triumphed despite trailing in hitting percentage, marking .288 to Long Beach State’s .336. The Star-Advertiser highlighted that Finn Kearney stepped up with 17 kills, filling in for the injured Kristian Titriyski, and proving crucial in the absence of a regular starter.
The evening also served as a special occasion, honoring seniors ‘Eleu Choy, Kurt Nusterer, Kawai Hong, Zachary Thompson, and Clay Wieter after their final regular-season home matches. Sold out with a turnstile crowd of 9,771, the match marked the first back-to-back sellouts for UH men’s volleyball since 1996 against UCLA, as The Star-Advertiser noted the historical attendance figures.
Moving forward, the Rainbow Warriors set their sights on the remaining two regular-season matches at UC Santa Barbara before they welcome opponents to the Outrigger Big West Championship from April 24 to 26, which will offer the team an opportunity to build on their recent momentum. The Warriors downing Long Beach State has certainly set the stage for an exciting conclusion to the Big West season.
