1 – One Time For My (B-Side) Warriors. We’ve heard from Head Coach Charlie Wade throughout his tenure that more often than not, the second-team (known as the B-side) regularly takes it to the starting seven (A-side) during practices. While the personnel has changed over the years, the high-quality and depth of the roster hasn’t wavered. With a rare doubleheader on the schedule, match one of the day against Catawba College (one of seven new programs this year) gave the B-side their chance to showcase their talents for real…and not just at practice. True freshman Victor Lowe (a late add to the travel roster due to the unavailability of Vladimir Kubr) made his collegiate debut at setter and ran the offense to a .345 clip, dishing out 45 assists and scoring four points (two kills, two aces). First collegiate career starts for OH Finn Kearney (14 kills, .393, an ace, eight digs and four blocks) and OPP Kainoa Wade (18 kills, .286, an ace, nine digs and one block) nearly led to their first double-double as well. MB Alex Parks earned his first start of the season and scored three kills, one ace and notched four blocks. MB Justin Todd was in on five blocks and put down six kills. Todd also provided instant point scoring in the 4th set on night two against Queens as he accounted for six points (three kills, one ace, two blocks). More on Clay Wieter’s return to the floor later. While the B-side was pushed to a fourth set against a first-year program, the mental fortitude of the group playing their first real match together was on display as they were able to come back to the floor and win the fourth set (and the match 3-1) after dropping the third in extra points. As a team, the group earned a then team-high 39 digs and registered the fifth double-digit blocking effort of #WarriorBall25 (11.5 blocks) held Catawba (with two graduate transfers and other key starters with collegiate experience) to a .204 hitting percentage and yielded just two aces. Live, in-match experience will always trump a practice session.

2 – Let’s Play Two. As Ernie Banks famously said, “Let’s Play Two.” And for the third time since 2018, the Rainbow Warriors did just that. In 2018 it was the Grow The Game Challenge in Nashville, Tennessee against Lincoln Memorial and Grand Canyon. The opponents in 2022 at The First Point Collegiate Challenge in Austin, Texas were Queens and Fairleigh Dickinson. This time in 2025, it was a day/night doubleheader some 50 miles apart as UH became quite familiar with I-85 in North Carolina. After finishing Friday’s match just after 8pm ET, the Bows were back on the floor just 13 hours later preparing for match one of the day with an 11am ET first serve. For some of the players, it brought back shades of playing club ball where pool play in tournaments regularly feature three matches over the span of 7-8 hours. After the 3-1 match win at Catawba that ended at 12:45pm ET, there was just enough time to grab lunch, get on the bus and head down to Charlotte for a little rest before they were back in the arena for their second match of the day and second match against Queens in roughly 24 hours. The span saw UH hit over .340 in every match with two of them hitting .400 or better (one with Lowe setting and the other with Tread Rosenthal). Four matches over three playing days. A lot of volleyball for the Bows and a lot of well-earned rest for the Sunday travel day back home.

3 – #GrowTheGame. None of the three teams on this road-trip were ranked. Division II Belmont Abbey received votes in the preseason poll and were the preseason favorite to win Conference Carolina after making the Men’s National Collegiate Championship in 2024. A first-year program back in 2018, Queens has gone from an Independent to a member of the MIVA and has seen their athletics program go through the reclassification process to become a fully-fledged Division I program (just like UCSD in the Big West). Another first-year program, Division II Catawba College is led by former USC Men’s Head Coach Bill Ferguson and is loaded with transfers. More programs out there mean more opportunities for players. Just like in 2023, the match this year at Belmont Abbey was an over-capacity crowd (capacity at 1100, listed attendance was 1145). The 2023 match at Queens was the first time they ever charged admission; here in 2025, it was considered a premium match as they charged a little more for tickets. Even with the 11am Saturday match time, 780 (including numerous teams in the Catawba Athletics Department showing support) were in attendance. With Ferguson dubbing the match #BrunchWithTheBows, the theme caught on as breakfast was served on the patio prior to the match and special edition shirts were made. It allows players to see parts of the country they may not necessarily see if not for volleyball and UH has been one of the schools at the forefront of the #GrowTheGame philosophy. In doing this, the NCAA has been able to grow their National Collegiate Championship field over the last decade from just four teams to now nine (with the approval for 12 teams in the future, the money from the NCAA just needs to be allocated for it to happen). Multiple conferences now have at least the minimum six teams to merit an automatic bid. Having the hashtag out there is one thing. Continuing to follow through with it year in and year out has been near the forefront of UH’s philosophy for years. 

4 – Welcome Back To Uncle Clay’s House. Lindenwood transfer Clay Wieter was productive as UH’s number two starting outside hitter on opening weekend against then No. 20 McKendree. Double-digit kills in his UH debut, he also added collegiate experience to a rather young starting group. Entrenched in the starting lineup heading into the BYU series, Wieter was pulled in mid-match on night one for Louis Sakanoko. No complaints from the St. Louis native as Wieter continued to work hard in practice. The DNP’s started to pile up for him as the French duo of Adrien Roure and Sakanoko continued to start. As part of the traveling 14-player roster for the Carolina road-trip, it was brought to our attention by Honolulu Star Advertiser’s Billy Hull that Wieter was dealing with back issues. With four matches scheduled over three days, would fans get a chance to see Wieter on the floor in the green and white? It was two more DNP’s over the first two matches. With the doubleheader looming, maybe this was a chance. Rest the starting unit, let the B-side get some run, which is what we had been hearing prior to the Friday match at Queens. With some family in town, Wieter did not disappoint as he made his first appearance (and eighth start) since January 31st at BYU. Given a key into the starting seven house against Catawba, Wieter notched a new UH career-high 14 kills on an efficient .444 hitting percentage (27 swings with just 2 errors), filling all stat categories (three assists, one ace, eight digs, six blocks and no reception errors over 18 attempts) as the Bows won the first match in the series history against Catawba. Smiles all around for what would be the first win of two in the day but the biggest smile was on the face of No. 24 post match with family.

5 – AR7 and King Louis XXIII. Originally set to come in together for #WarriorBall25, Sakanoko altered those plans by joining the squad during ahead of the 2024 Spring Semester. The package deal was complete as Roure kept his word to play with his countryman and became an official member of this 2025 class. The all-around game was noticeable immediately as Roure claimed UH’s OH1 spot, which asks a lot of the player. Primary passer, the number one option on the opponent’s scouting report; basically one of the best all-around players. While he’s maintained this spot all season, there was a noticeable drop in the attacking percentage as it appeared a sickness bug hit him as it has nearly everyone on the roster. But sometimes a change in scenery can help. In two sets against Belmont Abbey, the Lyon native put down five kills on 10 swings, followed by 25 kills, hitting .411 in two matches against Queens. As we near the halfway point of the season, maybe the Carolina road-trip has helped Roure to take that next step. Sakanoko had been in and out of the lineup during what many felt was an up and down freshman season. As that first guy off the bench this year, either as a serving sub or a replacement outside hitter, the appearances for the Paris native seemed to became fewer and farther between. However, he remained ready, became a key reason why UH swept the two-match series at BYU and no. 23 has become more and more comfortable on the floor. A change in his game has been seen, from placement over power on serving, to improvement on serve receive, as well as floor defense, and an increased offensive efficiency. 13-3-18 against Belmont Abbey, Sakanoko hit for a career-high .556, while picking up six digs. Despite the struggle in night one versus Queens (3-4-15, -.067), a match-off and watching film helped to make adjustments en route to a 15-kill/6-dig performance in match as he hit over .500 (.520) for a second time on the road-trip. Allez les bleus!

6 – Aloha Spirit In The Tar Heel State. Whenever the Bows take the show on the road, Warrior Nation shows up in support. Despite playing in three cities (Belmont, Charlotte and Salisbury) that were over 4600 miles from home, the Bows put on a show. Four wins (two 3-0 sweeps and two 3-1 wins). Throughout the three days there were numerous selfies taken with fans, homemade signs were autographed by players and plenty of memories made. What also has become a mainstay on the road is the team singing Hawai`i Ponoi prior to the starting lineup introductions. While sharing aloha prior to and after each match was evident, the task at hand was to play well and win. While the offense saw different combinations and hit over .300 in each set, the defense didn’t take a back set. UH held Belmont Abbey to a .115 percentage, the lowest by a UH opponent this season to date. Night one versus Queens, the Royals hit just .129, marking the fifth time this season UH has held an opponent to under a .200 hitting percentage. Blocking and digging took over against Catawba where UH recorded their 5th double-digit blocking match of the season (11.5 total team blocks) and a then season-high of 39 digs. That season-high of digs was short lived as later that night, UH racked up 41 digs and libero `Eleu Choy was in on a season-high 11. Hawai`i also didn’t show a lot of aloha on serve receive as they gave up just eight aces over the 14 sets played. While UH earned four wins, Catawba did hit .204 and Queens hit .336 on night two. Defense will need to show no aloha to UC Irvine when the Anteaters come to town Friday and Sunday, especially after they ended UH’s 2024 season at home in the semifinal round of the conference tournament.