The University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team, ranked third nationally, secured victories in both matches of a doubleheader against Roberts Wesleyan and Rockhurst on Wednesday at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Warriors now hold a 5-1 record for the season. They are scheduled to face both teams again in another doubleheader on Friday, with the Rockhurst match set for 11:00 a.m. and Roberts Wesleyan at 7:00 p.m.
In the second match of the day, Hawai’i defeated Rockhurst with set scores of 25-21, 25-19, 23-25, and 25-13. Kristian Titriyski and Adrien Roure led the Warriors with a combined total of 30 kills. Roure also contributed five aces and seven digs, while Titriyski added six digs and three blocks. Louis Sakanoko recorded nine kills and three blocks.
Hawai’i achieved a hitting percentage of .382 compared to Rockhurst’s .167. The Warriors served a season-high 10 aces and narrowly out-blocked the Hawks, 8.5 to 8.0.
For Rockhurst (1-3), Shay Spadaro, Will Sutphen, and Lucan Tran each posted eight kills. Setter Nathan Jacques had 28 assists along with three aces, five digs, and three blocks.
Rockhurst remained competitive during the first two sets and won the third by hitting .444 while Hawai’i committed six attack errors and hit .250 in that frame. In the fourth set, Hawai’i improved its performance with a .500 hitting percentage while limiting Rockhurst to -.034.
Earlier in the day, Hawai’i swept Roberts Wesleyan in straight sets (25-21, 25-17, 25-16). Most of Hawai’i’s reserves played throughout this match. Kainoa Wade led with a career-high 21 kills on .514 hitting over 35 attempts. He also recorded five digs, two aces, and one block.
Thatcher Fahlbusch made his debut for UH as an outside hitter with six kills, one ace, and two digs. Finn Kearney contributed six kills without any errors in eleven attempts along with five digs. Magnus Hettervik started as setter and finished with 22 assists and six digs before Victor Lowe took over to add another 14 assists while directing the offense to a .462 hitting percentage in the third set.
Kai Taylor started at libero for UH and registered nine digs; middle blocker Ofeck Hazan had five digs and three blocks.
Ryan DeJohn led Roberts Wesleyan (2-1) with eight kills and six digs. The Redhawks ended the match with a team hitting percentage of .185 along with four aces and four-and-a-half team blocks.
After these results, Hawai’i prepares for its next matches against both opponents on Friday.
