HONOLULU (KHON2) — The No. 4 University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team stunned more than 5,000 fans in the SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center after rallying a five-set win against Harvard 25-17, 25-27, 25-15, 21-25, 16-14 to improve 4-0.
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Freshman Bulgarian hitter Kristian Titriyski led the match with 18 kills, four service aces and six blocks. Frenchman standout Adrien Roure followed closely behind tallying 14 kills.
Reigning Big West Setter of the Week Tread Rosenthal dished out 47 assists, successfully rotating his offensive line throughout the match.
Kainoa Wade makes UH debut, ‘Bows sweep Harvard
WarriorBall25 powered through set one with senior middle blocker Kurt Nusterer and Roure leading the way.
A successful challenge over a service ace from outside hitter Justin Todd closed the frame 25-17.
The ‘Bows dropped a nail-biting second set to the Crimson, who battled neck-and-neck to tie the match 1-1 with a 27-25 win.
WarriorBall gained momentum in the third frame holding Harvard to just 15 points with stellar offensive performances by Roure, Titriyski and freshman opposite hitter Finn Kearney.
Both teams traded points throughout the fourth set. A pair of attack errors from the ‘Bows took the match to five after the Crimson secured the frame 25-21.
The fifth set had every Hawaii fan on the edge of their seats after a pair of WarriorBall attack errors brought Harvard to match-point, 14-11.
Kearney was subbed in for Titriyski to get behind the service line. The substitution led to a 5-0 scoring run for the ‘Bows starting with a kill by Rosenthal and ending with a solo block from Justin Todd.
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The ‘Bows return to the SimpliFi Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 15 to kick off a pair of matches against Princeton starting at 7 p.m.