The best way to cure the nerves was for Justin Todd to hammer nearly every ball he was set onto the opposing side of the court.
The redshirt freshman from Houston, Texas, who graduated from Moanalua, was playing in his first NCAA Tournament match, just like every other Rainbow Warrior who saw the floor in Thursday’s four-set quarterfinal win over Penn State at the Covelli Center.
The converted middle blocker (from outside hitter) matched an eight-kill performance with no errors from earlier in the season against UC Irvine, hitting .800 to help second-seeded Hawaii (27-5) advance to today’s second semifinal against No. 3 seed and two-time defending national champion UCLA (21-6) in the NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship.
Todd has had at least four blocks and six kills and hit .556 or better in UH’s past three wins starting alongside senior Kurt Nusterer.
With the Hawaii offense struggling at the pins, the two middle blockers saw a few more sets than normal and took advantage to help UH continue its season into the national semifinals.
“I was a little bit nervous because obviously it’s the tournament, but that just means I’m more excited to play and show what I can do,” Todd said. “I’m just super happy I made it first year playing on the team.”
The focus shifted Friday to preparing for the Bruins, who are 8-1 in their past nine tournament matches dating back to 2022.
UCLA starts first-team All-Americans at setter (Andrew Rowan), outside (Cooper Robinson) and middle (Cameron Thorne).
The other outside/opposite hitter, Zach Rama, earned second-team All-America honors.
The Bruins enter the match as one of the top serving teams, ranking fourth in the country averaging 1.96 aces per set. Hawaii is seventh at 1.75 aces per set.
The big difference is in errors. UCLA has committed 617 errors from behind the service line on 198 aces. Hawaii, which has 207 service aces, has made 471 service errors.
Hawaii serves in at an 83% clip, while the Bruins are at 73.8%.
“I think ultimately (serving) will decide (the match),” Hawaii coach Charlie Wade said. “How well can we handle their really aggressive serving and how efficient are we from the service line. It’s a bit cliche yet really, really true.”
Sophomore outside hitter Louis Sakanoko was held to nine kills and hit .160 against the Nittany Lions, which was the highest hitting percentage of UH’s three starting pin hitters.
He also had five digs, four blocks and three of Hawaii’s 10 aces and has shown in the past month even when his hitting is slowed, he has become too important of an all-around player to take off the court.
“I think when a part of your game is not great, you need to find a way to help the team,” Sakanoko said. “Personally, that was a tough game for me. I made a bunch of mistakes I can probably erase. We learned a lot (against Penn State) and are happy to be in the semifinal.”
Hawaii’s 10 blocks against Penn State marked the fourth time in the past six matches UH reached double figures in that category.
Todd, who redshirted last year as an outside hitter, has started 19 matches, including 15 of the past 18. Hawaii is 17-2 in matches he has started.
“I think just being here in the national championship, being able to represent Hawaii and the fans, and just playing my heart out and giving it my all to try to get to the top of the tournament as high as we can go, that’s my drive,” Todd said.
Nusterer, who has started all but one match for UH this season, has had a positive impact on Todd’s development as Todd has basically had to learn on the fly against some of the best teams in the country.
“He’s just been super helpful. I ask a lot of questions about what I should do against certain opponents and blocking schemes and he’s been super helpful,” Todd said. “Just giving me feedback without me even asking him and I’m really grateful for that.”
This is Hawaii’s ninth appearance in the national semifinals, where it holds a 6-2 record.
Hawaii has played UCLA twice in the tourney, losing in the national final in 1996 and 2023.
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TODAY’S SEMIFINALS
>> No. 1 Long Beach State (28-3)vs. No. 5 Pepperdine (21-9), 11 a.m.
>> No. 2 Hawaii (27-5) vs. No. 3 UCLA (21-6), 2 p.m.
MONDAY’S CHAMPIONSHIP
>> Semifinals winners, 1 p.m.
TV: ESPN+ Radio: KKEA 1420-AM / 92.7-FM (UH only)
