Warriors embark on fall volleyball trip

The two-time national champion University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team will open its fall exhibition schedule with two matches in Southern California this weekend.

The Rainbow Warriors will face Orange Coast College on Friday and will take on fellow Big West member UC Irvine on Saturday. The match at UCI will follow the Anteaters’ women’s match at the Bren Events Center.

The Warriors will also have another trip to Pepperdine on Nov. 4 and face The Masters University and UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 5.

UH returns 14 letter-winners, including all seven starters, from last season’s team that went 27-5 and won the Big West and NCAA Tournament titles.

>> The Rainbow Wahine volleyball team slipped 14 spots to No. 51 in the NCAA RPI following last weekend’s split on the road.

UH defeated CSU Bakersfield in five sets last Friday, then fell in four sets at Cal Poly on Saturday. The Rainbow Wahine (10-6, 7-1) are part of a three-way tie for first place in the Big West with Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara and will face Cal State Northridge on Friday and UCSB on Saturday at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Both matches are set for 7 p.m.