Short-handed Hawaii holds off UC Santa Barbara

Freshman outside hitter Adrien Roure put down a team-high 16 kills with nine digs and fellow freshman Finn Kearney added 11 kills as the short-handed, third-ranked Hawaii men’s volleyball team defeated No. 18 UC Santa Barbara 25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 25-20 today at The Thunderdome in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Middle blocker Kurt Nusterer added nine kills and six blocks and hit .692 for Hawaii (24-4, 7-2 Big West), which played without opposite Kristian Titriyski and outside hitter Louis Sakanoko.

Titriyski missed his third consecutive match with an ankle injury. Sakanoko didn’t make the trip with what a UH official said was a lower leg injury.

Despite those losses, Hawaii kept pace with Long Beach State for first place in the Big West and can earn at least a split of the regular-season championship with a win on Saturday at 4 p.m. in its regular-season finale against the Gauchos, who fell to 11-15 and 2-7.

UCSB finished with a higher hitting percentage, .267 to .248, and outdug UH 38-35. Both teams had 10 blocks and the Rainbow Warriors doubled up the Gauchos in aces, 8-4.