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(listed by national ranking)
No. 1 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (15-0)
>> Conference: Big West
>> Coach: Charlie Wade
>> Outrigger history: 27th appearance, 48-28 (10 titles)
>> Story lines: Jakob Thelle quickly put to rest questions of his readiness coming out of a two-week break. He set UH to a .632 hitting percentage in the first set of last week’s series against Pepperdine and unleashed his full array of skills with four kills and four aces in the rematch. With added spring in his legs, he jumped to No. 5 on UH’s all-time aces list with 108 and is 14 away from breaking the record. Outside hitter Spyros Chakas ranks fourth nationally with 4.22 kills per set and 10th with a .418 hitting percentage. “He’s way more physical over his time here and he’s jumping higher and hitting harder and you like to see all that hard work pay off and certainly he’s playing at a very high level,” Wade said. The Warriors, the lone undefeated team in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball, passed a program record with 28 consecutive wins at home and are one victory away from tying the school mark for longest overall streak of 25 set in 2019.
No. 2 UCLA Bruins (17-1)
> Conference: Mountain Pacific Sports Federation
> Coach: John Speraw
> Outrigger history: 15th appearance, 35-6 (nine titles)
> Story lines: With setter Miles Partain, a first-team All-American and last year’s MPSF Player of the Year leaving the program in February, 6-foot-6 freshman Andrew Rowan has taken control of the attack and leads the nation’s most efficient offense at .387, followed by UH’s .380. “This moment isn’t too big for him,” Speraw said. “He’s already taken more of a vocal leadership role within the team even as a freshman and I’ve been very impressed with his poise and ability to perform well and run the offense and having some ownership over that offense.” Ido David, a 6-foot-7 opposite, leads the Bruins with 3.57 kills per set and they return two All-Americans in middle Merrick McHenry (2.13 kps, .474) and OH Ethan Champlin (2.61 kps, .310) along with MB Guy Genis and OH Alex Knight (2.60, .382). Libero Troy Gooch, the reigning MPSF Defensive Player of the Week, transferred from Purdue Fort Wayne and will face his former team on Friday.
No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions (15-1)
> Conference: Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association
> Coach: Mark Pavlik
> Outrigger history: 22nd appearance, 21-39 (two titles)
> Story lines: Cal Fisher missed the season’s first seven matches and had 15 kills in 30 attacks against UCLA in his second game back in action. The two-time second-team All-American had 14 kills, six blocks, nine digs and a walk-off ace in a five-set win at UC Irvine on Sunday on the way to Hawaii. He’s averaging 3.03 kills per set on .324 hitting. “Fish has been there, done that, knows how the movie goes,” Pavlik said. “Probably our best server, he can go off at any point. When you have fifth-year guys on the court, it make it a little easier.” Setter Cole Bogner is another of the fifth-year seniors and ranks third in the nation with 10.25 assists per set. Middle blocker Toby Ezeonu leads the nation in hitting percentage at .500 with 127 kills and 18 errors in 218 attacks.
Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons (12-5)
> Conference: Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association
> Coach: Ryan “Rock” Perrotte
> Outrigger history: second appearance, 0-3
> Story line: Coming off a 17-13 season in 2022, the Mastodons are well ahead of last season’s pace and if not for three five-set losses in MIVA play might also be in the AVCA top 15. Perrotte noted an increase in efficiency as the team’s overall health improves, particularly with the return of setter Zach Solomon. “He expands our offense especially with the medium-system pass off the net that he can still run middle and run tempo to the pins,” Perrotte said. “He has a really good knack for finding the right people to set at the right time.” A high percentage of those sets go to 6-6 OH Jon Diedrich (3,98 kps, .307). Perrotte also has high praise for 6-8 MB Bryce Walker (3.21 kps, .353). “I’m trying to find more ways to keep him on the floor as opposed to three rotations in the middle. He’s so versatile.”
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