By: Tiff Wells – ESPN Honolulu’s Hawaii Men’s Volleyball Play-by-Play
1 – Resume Building Weekend. Coming into the Outrigger, UH was 4-1 against the Top 20, with two additional wins over a team that was receiving votes. But with a non-conference schedule that also included Emmanuel, Tusculum and Missouri S&T, many wondered if the Bows were tested enough for a rigorous field that comprised the 28th Outrigger Volleyball Invitational. Set 1 on Night 1 against Lewis, UH showed it was ready, to a tune of a .765 hitting performance en route to a 25-9 victory. A 3-0 win over the 14th-ranked Flyers, the showdown was ready for the Bows to defend homecourt against No.1 Grand Canyon. UH won the serve/pass matchup on their way to a big-time 3-0 sweep over the Lopes. A conference opponent and No.5 UC Irvine snapped UH’s 24-set win streak by taking the first set, but the Bows battled back to win sets two and three. Hawai`i earned their 4th top-5 win with the 5-set win over the Anteaters in the first of three, maybe four, possibly five matchups in 2024. In the Invitational that spanned four days, UH went 3-0 against teams ranked inside the top 14, two of which were in the Top 5. For their efforts, the Bows were given the number one ranking when the new poll came out earlier today.
2 – Pray For 6. I’ve called many matches over the last decade inside SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center, been to even more games as a fan since the facility opened up in 1994. Never have I heard that large of a crowd go as silent as it did on Sunday in Set 5 when Spyros Chakas went down with an injury. Having the be carried off the teraflex by his teammates, UH played the final two points with heavy hearts after having seen what they saw. Once Guilherme Voss put down match point, many could see Tread Rosenthal run to the tunnel to check up on his teammate and friend. The nearly 7,000 in attendance had Chakas on their mind as he later was put in a wheelchair with a towel over his head. In the post-match media availability with Head Coach Charlie Wade (ESPN Honolulu was not present as we were still on air with the broadcast), we would learn of reports saying that Chakas would undergo an MRI within the next 24 hours where we would learn more of the injury. A solum night after an incredible match and Invitational, our thoughts and prayers are with the senior from Nea Smyrni, Greece #PrayFor6.
3 – Outrigger Lives Up To Its Billing. Known as the premier non-conference tournament in the country, it was great to have the Outrigger back for a second-straight year after two-year hiatus. Four ranked teams that included the lone unbeaten team in D-I/II, on paper it was to be another amazing field and a lot of high-level volleyball. And once again, The Outrigger didn’t disappoint. Of the six matches, four went the maximum five sets. From an opening match that featured a thrilling five-set upset win for UC Irvine over then-unbeaten Grand Canyon, to the UH 3-0 win over Grand Canyon, the Lopes then bouncing back after being down 0-2 to beat Lewis and then the 3-hour, 17-minute final match that went 5-sets, storylines were a-plenty throughout the 6-match over four-day Invitational. And the Hawai`i fanbase showed up. For the Invitational, a total of 18,265 were in house for the six matches over four days. Congratulations to those that made the All-Tournament Team: Lewis (Max Roquet), Grand Canyon (Cam Thorne), UC Irvine (Hilir Henno, Max Grigorev) and Hawai`i (Alaka`i Todd and Guilherme Voss), as well as the Most Outstanding Player from Hawai`i, Spyros Chakas.
4 – Welcome To Kurtistown. We all knew about the exploits of All-American Guilherme Voss in the middle, but some wondered how the MB2 position would be filled with losing Cole Hogland to graduation. Insert third-year sophomore Kurt Nusterer. With his parents in town, Nusterer led the Mānoa Roofing Company with 18 blocks in the Invitational, including 15 in the final two matches. Sprinkle in the five aces with 11 kills as well over the 3-match span, it’s also been his energy and lengthy point-scoring runs that has helped UH finish the non-conference portion of their schedule at 17-1. For the 11 sets played, UH notched 34.5 total team blocks, including a season-high 17 against UC Irvine.
5 – Thiim Is Him. The sparkplug off the bench as the first service sub for Head Coach Charlie Wade, Keoni Thiim was pressed into six-rotation Outside Hitter duty for Chaz Galloway on Sunday. The Kalani High product did a bit of everything against the Anteaters: five kills, five assists, five aces, 12 digs (career) and two blocks. With the status of Chakas unknown at this time, expect to see Thiim (and Louis Sakanoko) pressed into duties on the left side. Both Thiim and Tread Rosenthal each have 30 service aces on the season as UH enters conference play.
6 – 36 Not Enough. Hawai`i was able to withstand one of the more outstanding individual performances in recent history on Sunday en route to the 3-2 match win over UC Irvine and their 11th Outrigger Volleyball Invitational title. Anteater Outside Hitter Hilir Henno recorded a career-high 36 kills, added three aces, six digs and two blocks in the five-set loss. Henno scored 20-plus kills in all three Invitational matches (29 against Grand Canyon, 24 versus Lewis and the aforementioned 36 against UH). Three of his four aces in the Invitational came against UH as well but for the most part, the serve receive for the Bows for the most part held their own against the dangerous Henno.
