In terms of frequency and intensity, Hawaii’s men’s volleyball rivalry with Long Beach State holds elevated prominence in the program’s history.
The Rainbow Warriors’ 97 meetings with the Beach (formerly 49ers) represent the most of any UH opponent, and their meetings since the Big West added men’s volleyball in 2018 seemed to carry a championship feel, whether in the regular season or postseason.
So although the Beach’s return to SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center this weekend represents the first time UH will open conference play against LBSU, the two-match series figures to set the tone for the five-week Big West regular-season sprint and alleviate any thoughts of a post-Outrigger letdown for the Warriors.
“Really anybody in our league” would hold the Warriors’ focus, UH coach Charlie Wade said. “But certainly Long Beach gets everybody’s attention.
“If we’re not No. 1 and 2, we’re close and we’re both highly ranked. It’s been a lot of fun for a quite a while, and this year’s no different.“
Coming off an emotionally charged Outrigger Volleyball Invitational — in which UH took its first loss of the season, then rebounded with a win over then-No. 2 UCLA before the program’s first sellout since 2020 — the No. 1 Warriors (17-1) open the series with the No. 4 Beach (11-2, 2-0 Big West) on Friday and ticket sales for Saturday’s rematch are on pace to approach another sellout.
“When we play at Hawaii in the regular season or they play us (in Long Beach) in the regular season or we find each other in the postseason, it’s a lot of good volleyball. Both teams are really well trained and both venues are usually packed,” Beach coach Alan Knipe said in a phone interview before the team’s departure for the trip to Oahu on Wednesday.
“If you’re a college volleyball player and a coach, those are types of situations and environments you search for. Nobody dreams of playing or coaching collegiate sports and playing in an empty high school-sized gym. It’s really great, whatever time of year.”
While UH opens its Big West schedule while closing a five-week homestand this weekend, Long Beach State began its conference season by grinding out two wins over UC Santa Barbara last week.
Long Beach State, led by AVCA National Player of the Year Alex Nikolov, swept last year’s regular-season series with UH at the Walter Pyramid and went on to win the Big West’s regular-season title.
The Warriors didn’t lose again in 2022 and swept the Beach in the Big West tournament final in Manoa and again in the national championship match at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion.
Even so, Knipe indicated payback isn’t a primary motivator entering this week’s matches.
“That shouldn’t drive things. If we talk about stuff like that and spend any time on it we’re totally against what we preach in the program,” Knipe said. “We’re a different team, we’ll have different pieces on the court, than we had the last time we saw these guys, so we just have to stay present.”
While Nikolov turned pro last summer, the Beach return a veteran lineup including All-America libero Mason Briggs, second-team right side Clarke Godbold and honorable-mention outside hitter Spencer Olivier and setter Aiden Knipe.
Wade said he’s also seen more production from the Beach middles. LBSU leads the nation with 2.96 blocks per set and 6-foot-10 Simon Torwie’s 1.70 bps tops the individual chart.
Among the new faces is outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis, a 6-foor-3 transfer from Ohio State. Siapanis leads the Beach with 3.15 kills per set and 28 service aces.
“He’s been consistent and he’s at this point starting to come into a little bit more of a comfort zone,” Knipe said.
Knipe also sees some wrinkles in UH’s game since the program’s last met in Los Angeles.
“Watching them there are similarities to some of the things they do, but there’s some new things or they’re doing some things more than they did last year, and I know that to be true to us,” Knipe said. “So it’s just not another game in the series, I think it’s a ’23 version of it and I think it’ll have a lot of the same feels, but both teams have some different characteristics from last year.”
With UH middle blocker Cole Hogland dealing with an illness last week, freshman Kurt Nusterer provided a spark in last week’s wins over Purdue Fort Wayne and UCLA. Wade said Hogland returned to practice this week and “looks like he’s a full-go.”
BIG WEST MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
At SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
No. 4 Long Beach State (11-2, 2-0 BWC) vs. No. 1 Hawaii (17-1, 0-0)
>> When: Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m.
>> TV: Spectrum Sports
>> Radio: 1420-AM / 92.7-FM
