1 – Efficient Night One. Looking at the head-to-head stats coming into the series, the defensive numbers for Lindenwood weren’t great. Teams were hitting over .340 against them this season and only being blocked one and a half times per set on average. With the diversified and efficient Hawai`i offense playing at a high level and coming off that impressive series sweep of then No.3 UC Irvine, the Bows felt confident going up against the Lions. Even with Lindenwood scoring 20 or more points in two of the three sets played (20 in set 2, 25 in set 3), there was just no defensive answer against the Rainbow Warriors. A hot start to the match, Hawai`i recorded 14 kills on 18 errorless swings to hit .778 as they led wire-to-wire, winning Set 1 25-13. Five of the seven hitting errors for the match came in set 2 where UH hit a respectable .318 and won 25-20. Closing the match out with hitting .519 (16-2-27) in Set 3, UH hit a season-high .522 with the 27-25 set victory for their eighth 3-0 win of #WarriorBall25. It marked the fifth time this season that the Bows hit over .400. While the serve-receive did yield four aces in the match, Hawai`i sided out at 80% (47-of-60) off first-ball contact. For UH, it was their eighth win against an unranked team this season and perhaps their most efficient and most complete match of the year.

2 – All Love For CW. A 30-minute drive from his hometown of St. Louis to St. Charles (home of Lindenwood University), Clay Wieter went to school very close to home. Growing both as a player and person, his All-MIVA 2024 campaign led the Lions to their first ever National Ranking and first ever appearance in the MIVA Tournament Championship. Wanting a change of scenery and also an opportunity to challenge himself even more, he sought a new place to call home for his final season in 2025. Leaving Lindenwood on good terms and becoming a Rainbow Warrior, he had the March 5^th and March 7^th dates circled on the calendar once the #WarriorBall25 schedule came out. A week that began with ice cream with some of his former teammates ended with hugs and friendly conversations. Both nights also featured pre-match arena group selfies, playing short court as the match warmup and two big rounds of applause when Wieter was announced in the starting lineup. And just like it was a scene in a movie, Wieter ended Set 1 and Set 3 on night one with set and match-clinching kills. 

3 – Todd Goes Career. Jump-touching 12’2,” Justin Todd has become a problem for the opposition in the middle. After being moved from the pin into the middle this past offseason, the redshirt middle blocker has seen ample court time and has taken full advantage of the opportunities. More than holding his own against UC Irvine in the week prior, the connection between Todd and setter Tread Rosenthal has continued to develop and get better. With the Hawai`i offense in system nearly all match long on night one, Rosenthal found Todd again…and again…and again…and again. A career-high 11 kills on 14 swings with just one hitting error, Todd’s .714 hitting percentage paced UH’s offense to a season-high .522. More impressive was the confidence by Rosenthal near the end of Set 3 on night one where he found Todd and JT converted swings for kills at 24-23, 25-24 and 26-25. Adding two aces and five blocks to his ledger, the way Todd is playing, don’t be surprised to see the redshirt freshman make the Big West All-Freshman Team when the awards come out next month.    

4 – Scenery Change for Kearney. One of the top domestic recruits in his class and one of the highest rated recruits Hawai`i has ever landed, Finn Kearney has seen the first-half of his freshman year as part of the rotation (but not a heavy component) of Charlie Wade’s lineup. Making a position change in the fall (from opposite to outside hitter), the lefty has seen one start (against Catawba) through the first ten weeks of the season while being one of the regular serving substitutions. Not complaining, biding his time and waiting for the opportunity to see the court more, he took full advantage this week against Lindenwood. As night one became a match where UH worked on different combinations, Kearney was a serving sub in sets one and two. Getting run as an Outside Hitter in set 3, Kearney scored a kill and had an assist, while going six-of-six on serve receive. After Clay Weiter started night two and then gave way to Louis Sakanoko in set two, Kearney was called upon to the outside for set three. The freshman more than answered the bell. An efficient seven kill performance on 12 swings with just one hitting error, Kearney hit .500 while recording a dig and a block. Another solid serve-receive performance, going 11-of-12 helped UH close out the Lions in four sets on night two.

5 – Good Service Turns Late. Hawai`i came into the Lindenwood series top two in the Big West and top three in nation, with a little over two service aces per set. While UH had only seven aces in the seven sets played (including a season-low two in the second match), the Bows were the more efficient team from the service line. Lindenwood had 34 service errors to UH’s 25. Six of those 34 service errors for Lindenwood came in Sets 2 (25-20 UH won) and 3 (27-25 UH won) on night one and then in Sets 3 (27-25 UH won) and 4 (25-23 UH won). Known by the UH coaching staff as “GSTL’s,” the good service turns late may not have led to aces but keeping the ball in play late put pressure on Lindenwood’s serve-receive and ultimately led to UH winning both matches in the series to extend the winning streak to eight.

6 – Loaded Back Half. Continuing the #GrowTheGame movement and being at the forefront of it, the first half of UH’s schedule has included unranked teams (Harvard, Belmont Abbey, Queens, Catawba and Lindenwood) and a first-year program (Catawba). 8-0 against those unranked teams, the Bows have gone 9-1 against the Top 20 en route to a 17-1 record as UH hosts the 29^th Outrigger Volleyball Invitational (OVI). While the front half has been sprinkled with Top 20 teams and unranked foes, the second half will be a grind as UH will have just one bye week. It will be another OVI where the entire field is ranked in the latest AVCA Top 20 Coaches Poll (No.3-Hawai`i, No. 5-USC, No.12-Ball State and No.19-Penn State). This previous series against Lindenwood could be the final match for Hawai`i where they play an unranked team. After the Outrigger, the Rainbow Warriors go back into conference play and will face No. 13 UC San Diego and No. 1 Long Beach State at home, while traveling to No. 7 CSUN and No. 17 UC Santa Barbara before UH hosts The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2025 Outrigger Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship.