Hawaii men’s volleyball team wins 10th straight match

Hanging 10 hit a bit of snag Sunday night.

No. 2 Hawaii was looking at dropping its first set of the season to Lincoln Memorial, a third-year program out of the Independent Volleyball Association, and not looking all that sharp in Set 3 in front of the 2,035 at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Rainbow Warriors, with their third setter and a lineup seen only in the practice gym, were in serious jeopardy of not tying the program record for consecutive sweeps when trailing 24-22 in Set 3. The AYSO night was soon to be over with Hawaii reinserting two starters who may have thought their night was done after rolling in Set 1.

Senior hitter Stijn van Tilburg had five words for senior setter Joe Worsley when the two re-entered down 24-23.

“I told Joe, ‘Just give me the ball,’ ” van Tilburg said. “I have so much trust in Joe that he’ll give the right ball and he trusts me that I’ll finish the job.”

Van Tilburg did, putting down the last two points in Hawaii’s 25-9, 25-17, 27-25 victory over the Lincoln Memorial (7-6). The 100-minute outcome was as impressive for the Warriors (10-0) — holding off three set points — as it was for the Railsplitters, who had five of their starters from Friday’s loss suspended for violating team rules.

“So the difference at the end was, Coach (UH’s Charlie Wade) bringing in his All-Americans (van Tilburg and Worsley), making plays, and my potential All-American (junior opposite Evan Cory) did not make the play,” LMU coach John Cash said. “You know, we battled with a lot of top-ranked teams this year, but we haven’t played anybody like this. The size, the speed, the ball control, the serve control, the speed at which they play at that size is amazing. Kudos to them.

“I got to sit in and watch them practice a little bit. And we took some notes and I actually applied some in tonight’s match, and it worked. So I appreciate sharing the game and learning from others. I thought that was great for us tonight.”

The Railsplitters, who lost in five at Ohio State two weeks ago, took set point at 24-22 when Warrior freshman opposite Filip Humler hit wide, forcing Wade to call his first timeout in the two matches with LMU. Humler put down what would be his ninth and final kill, then teamed with sophomore middle Max Rosenfeld to stuff Cory to tie at 24.

Sophomore hitter Lucas Kerley’s fifth kill gave the Railsplitters hope and their third set point. Cory, who had LMU’s lone ace of the night, netted his spin serve to tie it for the 15th and last time, setting up van Tilburg’s heroics.

Was there any question where the set was going?

“Two-time first-team All-America … hard to go away from him,” said Worsley, who replaced sophomore Jackson Van Eekeren in the final minutes. “He’s made so many big plays. It’s kind of easy decision to make.

“It’s pretty simple. I told my brother (sophomore libero Gage) the same thing, that if I dug the ball, go to Stijn. He made a nice set.

“This was a good test for us. It’s good to get pushed a little bit. We’re ready for the next challenge.”

Hawaii has a bye week before opening Big West play on the road at No. 3 UC Irvine (13-2) on March 1 and 2.

Wade used 12 players, including all three setters who played one set each.

“It’s not depth unless you use it,” Wade said. “It’s big for the younger guys to get in some quality court time, they’ve worked really hard.

“Hats off to Lincoln Memorial. They were a little flat-footed Friday and our guys had to play hard to win the match.

“I don’t think dropping the set means anything. You lose the match, well, then … we lose sets all the time. Just come to practice.”

Hawaii, the national leader in hitting percentage (.472), finished at .441 after a .342 in Set 3. Gage Worsley, leading the country in digs (2.71 per set), had 10 of the Warriors’ 44 digs.

Hawaii outblocked LMU 8.5-7 with senior middle Dalton Solbrig in on four. In his first start of the season, senior hitter Brett Rosenmeier finished with nine kills, as did Humler.

Van Tilburg added seven without an error on 11 swings. He had a combined 15 kills with no errors on 19 attempts in the two sweeps of the Railsplitters.

Cory had eight kills, five blocks and an ace for LMU. Freshman hitter Jacob Titus also had eight kills in his first career start.

NOTE

Hawaii tied the record of 10 straight sweeps set in 2017. That Warrior team also holds the mark for sets won in a row (32); the current team is at 30.