LOS ANGELES >> Volleyball has long been a close-knit ohana, a family that is seeing exponential growth at the men’s collegiate level with the additions of teams and conferences. But, relative to football and basketball, volleyball — at least in the U.S. — is like comparing Molokai to Oahu.
It often becomes a family affair, the passion passed down like DNA. Parents coaching their children is pretty normal at the club and high school levels, but when it comes to college, it is very rare. Even rarer is when that parent and child end up in the national championship together.
That will happen Saturday when top-seeded Long Beach State takes to the Pauley Pavilion court against Hawaii in the NCAA Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship (2 p.m. on ESPN2). Beach head coach Alan Knipe and sophomore setter Aiden will become just the second father-son combo in the history of the tournament that began in 1970.
“I’m sure it will be really, really special, unique when we have time to reminisce about it,” Alan Knipe said. “No doubt, he’s my son, and it’s always special to be around your son.
“(Associate head coach) Nick Macrae does a really good job working with Aidan during the match. I think both of us are focused on keeping the attention on Aidan running the offense and me coaching the team and being the best we can be tomorrow night.”
The first father-son pair to share the national title match experience was Hawaii coach Mike Wilton and outside hitter Aaron in 1996, coincidentally here at Pauley Pavilion.
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“The season and championship match were especially memorable with my son Aaron having progressed his game to become a valuable contributor,” Mike Wilton said in an email. “(In 1996) a very special Hawai’i team loses a challenging five game war with UCLA. That match and year were very enjoyable for me because of the qualities of each and every player.
“Win or lose, they gave their all with class which I think was part of the reason for their popularity.”
The Wilton family tree adds a third generation branch Saturday. Grandson Keoni Thiim is a sophomore serving specialist/outside hitter for the Warriors. They are the first grandfather, son and grandson to compete for the title.
“Keoni who, on the court reminds me a lot of his Uncle Aaron, has a real good velocity on his spike serve, and has won a job as a serving specialist. It is a real hard job, and I like how he is progressing, and that he is a good teammate.”
Ku’ulei Wilton, Mike’s wife, said she still has the video of the 1996 match and watches it often.
“I definitely see similarities between (Aaron and Keoni),” Ku’ulei wrote in an email. “Working hard in practice, being a team player, doing some crazy running after errant passes, both taking off in this sport from high school, both with athletic abilities, great verticals and a desire to excel in the sport and earn a starter’s spot.
“We are excited to watch Keoni serve in his current role on this exciting and talented team.”
Hawaiian Pride
When Warriors junior hitter Kana’i Akana accepted his Elite 90 Award for the highest GPA among the teams in the final four, the Punahou School graduate did so in Hawaiian.
“Charlie (coach Wade) told me about the award in Hawaii,” said Akana, who has a 3.94 GPA in finance. “He heard me speak Hawaiian a couple of times and thought it would be a good way to introduce our team and represent our island, our culture, the language and spread it to the rest of the teams here.
“It’s always good to raise awareness of ‘Olelo Hawaii and show people where our culture comes from.”
Akana said he has been taking Hawaiian language courses since seventh grade.
“Recently I have started to embrace it more of who I am and not just a class I’m taking,” said Akana, who originally was at BYU before joining the Warriors in 2021. “Especially being a third Hawaiian. It’s really important to represent my community.”
The Elite 90 Award comes with a patch that Akana first wore in Thursday’s semifinal win over Ball State. He received a new patch from UH athletic director David Matlin after Friday’s practice to be worn Saturday.
“It’s cool,” he said. “My parents are proud, but I don’t like to differentiate myself too much from the team.
“It’s definitely an honor. I’m glad that one of the guys from our team won it. It’s pretty representative of our program and aspects in our lives.”
The family connection to volleyball continues with Akana. His grandfather Tony was an assistant coach for the Warriors in the 1980s with Alan Rosehill and also was an assistant on the 1984 men’s Olympic team that won gold. His cousins are AVP Tour players Taylor and Trevor Crabb.
Time difference
When Hawaii’s match with Ball State started on Thursday, it was 5 p.m. in Honolulu and 11 p.m. in Muncie, Ind. The match finished close to 8 p.m. Hawaii time and 2 a.m. at BSU.
Cardinals coach Donan Cruz said he didn’t feel that the lateness impacted his team, but there was a noticeable difference in Set 5, during which the Warriors had four of their 13 aces in jumping out to a 10-3 lead.
“Time differences always mess a bit with the flow of adjusting during short periods of time,” said Cruz, the AVCA Coach of the Year. “but I wouldn’t say it had any impact on our ability to perform at a high level.
“Hawaii’s tough serving down the stretch was not a surprise. We expected they would consistently make big serves throughout the match. That’s what makes them lethal. The tough part for us was the timing of when the late service aces came.”
BY THE NUMBERS: Since the NCAA Tournament expanded in 2014, a No. 3 seed has won the title twice (Ohio State in 2015 and Loyola of Chicago in 2016). … Hawaii coach Charlie Wade is 6-3 in NCAA Tournament matches, with the Warriors advancing to the tournament five of the past seven seasons. … Hawaii’s 26 wins are the most of any team in the country this season and fourth-most in program history. … Today’s match marks the first time that Long Beach State and Hawaii are meeting on a neutral court. … Hawaii has a 9-6 record in the NCAAs, including 2-1 in the title match. (The 2002 championship was vacated due to an ineligible player). … Saturday pits the two winningest programs since 2015: Hawaii (172-42, .807) and Long Beach State (163-39, .807). Lewis is 165-58, .737. … The Warriors are 23-1 when winning Set 1, the only loss being on April 1 at Long Beach State, losing in four. In the past three seasons, UH is 48-2 when winning Set 1. … With 221 aces, the Warriors have set a rally scoring record and have a chance to break the all-time mark of 226 set in 1996. The previous rally-scoring record was 174 in 2019.
