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Edward Waters christened its men’s volleyball program with an ace on the Tigers’ first official serve.
After setter Oneil Daley wrote himself into Tigers history, top-ranked Hawaii dominated the remainder of Edward Waters’ debut match in a 74-minute sweep on Friday at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
The Rainbow Warriors fired 11 aces and hit .564 as a team while playing much of their roster in a 25-11, 25-7, 25-10 win before a crowd of 1,862.
Edward Waters of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference played an exhibition match on Tuesday and made the program’s official debut against the defending national champions. UH turned in an efficient performance, with setter Jakob Thelle firing five aces in the first set and distributing 20 assists while playing the first two sets.
Outside hitter Spyros Chakas put away six kills in 10 attempts, also in the first two sets, and Kana‘i Akana added six off the bench in the final two sets.
“Every day we’re practicing at a really high level, the highest level I’ve ever competed at, basically ever, but it’s on a daily basis,” Akana said. “That’s what’s so fun about this program. We’ve got so many guys ready to go, just such great training, and it’s amazing.”
Akana spent much of the final two sets with former Punahou teammate Alaka‘i Todd on the court as well and Todd finished with four kills, four blocks and an ace in his first action of the season.
“That was special,” Akana said. “It’s been a little bit since we played and right when we got out there it was like old times.”
Middle blocker Cole Hogland had four kills in the third set as well, and sophomore outside hitter Keoni Thiim also delivered in his most extensive playing time.
Thiim, a Kalani graduate and grandson of former UH coach Mike Wilton, served the final four points of the first set and closed it out with his first career ace and a kill out of the back row. He went on to add aces in the second and third sets as well.
“I always talk about trying to reward behavior, and some of these guys for years have been working really hard in our practice gym, so you want to give them a shot,” UH coach Charlie Wade said. “The beautiful thing was how efficient everyone was.”
Wade highlighted the Warriors’ performance from the service line in putting nearly 95% of their attempts inbounds with just four errors in 73 attempts.
“That has no reflection on anything but us and our effort and our focus,” Wade said.
Wade said EWU coach Brandon Reeves reached out over the summer to set up the series. The Warriors had a spot available and put them on the schedule in an effort “to welcome them into the brotherhood of Division I men’s volleyball.”
“Coming to Hawaii, a lot of kids come from single-parent homes, and haven’t had the opportunity to come (here),” Reeves said of the Tigers’ opening trip. “It’s their first time out of the Continental U.S. So it’s a great opportunity for them to come here to play a sport that they love.”
Edward Waters stayed close early on, with opposite Evens Edouard putting away three kills as the Tigers trailed 11-9. Thelle then fired three aces in a six-point service run and UH closed the first set with a 14-2 surge.
UH put four new starters on the floor to open the second set and Todd had an ace in a six-point service turn that gave UH a 15-4 lead.
UH freshman Jack Walmer took over setting duties in the third set and Akana had four kills and an ace in a 7-1 UH run as the Warriors closed out the sweep.
Kaelen Ingram led the Tigers with seven kills and five digs and the Warriors recognized the significance of the match for Edward Waters as the sport looks to make inroads among Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
“I’m really glad they got that opportunity,” Akana said. “They definitely competed, max energy, max effort. Especially going into Martin Luther King weekend, it all kind of fits together and really appreciative of that moment.”
The Warriors and Tigers close the two-match series at 5 p.m. on Sunday.
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