With the season on the line in Friday’s Outrigger Big West Championship semifinals, the third-ranked Hawaii men’s volleyball team should be close to full strength.
Sophomore outside hitter Louis Sakanoko, who did not make last week’s road trip to UC Santa Barbara, should be back in the starting lineup when the Rainbow Warriors play the winner of today’s first-round match between No. 3 seed UC Irvine and No. 6 Cal State Northridge at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
Freshman opposite Kristian Titriyski, who has missed the last four matches with an ankle injury, has started jumping and hitting again. He won’t be 100%, but there is a possibility he could see the court for the Rainbow Warriors (24-5), who need to win to avoid their season ending in the conference semifinals for a second straight season.
“Louis looked a lot better. Kristian was moving around more than he has,” Hawaii coach Charlie Wade said. “It’s still day-to-day, but we will see. (Titriyski) was actually jumping and hitting some balls today so I don’t think it is out of the question, but certainly headed in the right direction.”
Hawaii is 2-2 in Big West play without Titriyski, one of three All-Big West, first-team selections for UH this season as announced on Wednesday. The Rainbow Warriors split their two matches against UC Santa Barbara to end the regular season without both Titriyski and Sakanoko.
Sakanoko had hit better than .400 three times in eight conference matches and combined for 20 kills in two matches against No. 1 Long Beach State before missing last week.
“We got Louis back in the gym and he’s good after that one week of rest,” sophomore setter Tread Rosenthal said. “I think the biggest thing was, he is a lot of our energy on the court and his court presence I think is the main thing we lost without him.”
Hawaii has had to mix and match its lineup with both players out. Wade has started different lineups in each of the last five matches. Senior libero ‘Eleu Choy is the only player to have appeared in every match for UH this season.
It has helped UH build its notable depth on the roster, and allows Wade to make quick changes if things aren’t going well.
Six players have led UH in kills in a match at least once this season.
“It ain’t depth unless you use it,” Wade said. “Somebody asked me if it’s hard to make in-game adjustments. Not when you have good players. … It’s nice to see multiple guys get opportunities and then play well when they get those opportunities. We’ve got more guys able to contribute now even with some of the injuries we’ve had.”
