Hawaii’s last men’s volleyball meeting with UC San Diego produced a memorable outcome, albeit one the Rainbow Warriors would probably rather forget.
Undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the country, the Rainbow Warriors were stunned by the Tritons on their home court in the semifinals of the Big West tournament last April. The five-set loss ended up being the lone blemish in UH’s 17-1 run to the national championship.
A little more than 10 months later, the match continues to serve as a reminder for the Warriors as they open conference play today in their first meeting with UCSD since that duel.
“This year’s team and this year’s season is separate from last year’s,” UH middle blocker and returning starter Guilherme Voss said. “But for sure it does teach us that we have to respect every single opponent that we’re playing, just as we have been all this year.
“We’ve been showing every single opponent the respect they deserve, because anyone can absolutely win.”
A surprise finalist in the Big West tournament last season, No. 10 UC San Diego (7-6, 0-1 Big West) has been a regular in the national polls this year and will play host to the third-ranked Warriors (13-2) in a two-match series starting today at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla, Calif. The matches today and Friday are scheduled for 5 p.m.
The Warriors and Tritons are among four Big West teams ranked in the Top 10 nationally, with Long Beach State at No. 2 and UC Santa Barbara at No. 5.
“We go through January and February getting ready for these moments,” UH coach Charlie Wade said. “Now it’s league play and it’s going to be high level every single night.”
Since dropping two matches at Ball State, the Warriors have won nine straight and had a bye week to recharge heading in the Big West season.
While Wade annually uses early-season matches to develop depth, injuries necessitated varying rotations for much of the nonconference schedule. The Warriors’ opening night lineup was reunited in a series sweep of Lincoln Memorial with the return of outside hitter Chaz Galloway from an ankle injury and the week off provided a chance to recharge entering the Big West opener.
“The thing we’ve learned is when our level of engagement is high we’re a lot better,” Wade said. “I thought we had a nice week of practice and looking forward to getting out and playing against a really good San Diego team.”
UH enters league play as the nation’s most prolific team in scoring from the service line with 2.61 aces per set, led by setter Jakob Thelle’s .805. The Warriors also top the blocking chart with 3.049 per set, with Voss leading the nation at 1.40 per set.
“The only reason I am (leading the nation) is because we have such good blockers on the pins as well as the other middles, and because we challenge ourselves in the practice gym,” Voss said. “It’s something that I pride myself on and I think we should pride ourselves on in general, that we push each other to be that good.”
While UH is coming off a bye week, a shorthanded UCSD team lost to UC Santa Barbara in four sets in its conference opener last Friday. The Tritons were missing setter Blake Crisp and outside hitter Ryan Ka and middle blocker Shane Benetz for the match.
When at full strength, the Tritons scored back-to-back five-set wins at BYU last month and also swept No. 12 Stanford early in the season.
“They certainly got my attention and I imagine the guys are the same,” Wade said when asked about last season’s upset. “They’ve been ranked the whole time (this year) and they’re good.
“They’ve had a lot of guys in and out of their lineup and it’s hard to tell these days whether it’s health and safety protocols or just natural evolution of their depth chart, but they’ve played a lot of guys and we’re going to have to play well.”
UCSD outside hitter Kyle McCauley led the Tritons with 18 kills in last year’s win over UH and ranks second in the Big West and seventh nationally with 3.90 kills per set this season. Middle blocker Logan Clark leads the team with a .445 hitting percentage. Matthew Lim, a 6-foot-6 outside hitter, was named the Big West Freshman of the Week on Feb. 21.
The conference title chase will culminate with the Big West tournament April 21-23 again at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
Big West Men’s Volleyball
At RIMAC Arena; La Jolla, Calif.
No. 3 Hawaii (12-3, 0-0 BWC) vs. No. 10 UC San Diego (7-6, 0-1)
>> When: Today and Friday, 5 p.m.
>> TV: None
>> Radio: 1420-AM / 92.7-FM
>> Online: ESPN+
