Hawaii men’s volleyball voted No. 1 in preseason poll
Associated Press / May 8
Hawaii’s Jakob Thelle (10) reached for the ball against BYU’s Davide Gardini during the NCAA men’s volleyball championship match Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, on May 8.
The defending national champion University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team was voted No. 1 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I-II preseason poll released today.
The Rainbow Warriors received 12 of 19 first-place votes and were followed by UCLA (one first-place vote), Pepperdine (one) and Long Beach State (three) and Penn State. No. 6 BYU received two first-place votes.
UH will face No. 7 Loyola-Chicago in the Outrigger Challenge to open the season. The series is set for Jan. 5 and 7 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
The Big West placed five teams in the top-15 poll, with No. 10 UC San Diego, No. 11 UC Santa Barbara and No. 12 UC Irvine joining Hawaii and Long Beach State.
UH returns three starters from the 2021 team that went 17-1 and swept BYU in the national championship match in Columbus, Ohio — setter Jakob Thelle, middle blocker Guilherme Voss and outside hitter Chaz Galloway.
