When one comes to a University of Hawai‘i men's volleyball home match in 2025, the standard experience is to be surrounded by thousands of loud, passionate fans, with the vast majority rooting for one of the top programs in the country.
Hawai‘i's home crowds at the Stan Sheriff Center are considered the best in collegiate men's volleyball, with the numbers to back it up. The Rainbow Warriors have led the country in attendance every season since 2015, with the exception of the 2021 season in which local COVID restrictions barred fans from attending.
Combined with the program's success, which included a string of four straight NCAA championship match appearances from 2019 to 2023, the Rainbow Warriors are the hottest ticket in town as far as sporting events are concerned.
It wasn't always that way. Although the program drew a cult following with large crowds in the 1990s, the program plateaued in the late 2000s, going a combined 33-48 from 2007 to 2009.
In 2025, the Rainbow Warriors are off to a 6-0 start, ranked No. 4 in the AVCA/NVA National Collegiate MVB Poll. Heading into a two-match series at No. 5 BYU that begins on Friday, Hawai‘i head coach Charlie Wade is at 298 wins at the helm for the 'Bows.
“I’m getting old, I guess," Wade, 61, quipped when asked about nearing the 300-win accolade on Tuesday.
Wade, who took over the program in 2010, was an assistant coach with the highly successful UH women's volleyball program from 1995 to 2005. Although he didn't take the men's team to the NCAA Tournament until 2015, he had his mind on winning it all immediately upon taking the job.
“It was always the goal to win national championships from Day 1. Obviously, I was here for a long time with the women's side, you could see the level of success that you could have and how important volleyball is to the people in our community," Wade said. "So, the goal was always, from Day 1, to get Hawai‘i back to where we're competing for league and national championships.”
Before Wade fully woke up the sleeping giant, his first five teams at Mānoa had a modest following, and none made the tournament.
Men's volleyball assistant coach Kupono Fey played for Wade from 2014 to 2017 and joined his coaching staff prior to the 2023 season. When asked about witnessing Wade's humble beginnings as the men's coach, all Fey could do was smile at the nostalgia and marvel at how far Wade has elevated the program.
"We didn't even sell tickets in the upper bowl my freshman year," Fey recalled. "We wanted more fans on the (television broadcast) cameras. That was one of his big ideas. He's not only a fantastic coach, he's a good businessman, and he's got great ideas."
In 2015, the Rainbow Warriors were ranked No. 1 nationally during a 16-match winning streak. Although the 'Bows ultimately fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, signs of what the program could be became clear.
"We started selling tickets (in the upper bowl), and we started drawing a good crowd of around 4,000. Just to look back on it now, that seemed like a sellout to us," Fey said. "Now we're selling out 10,000 seat arenas. Even on the road, we're selling out opponent’s gyms. It's really incredible what he has done with this program and the way he's built it with these guys, because that's probably the hardest part. Just to get there from where he started is incredible.”
After missing the NCAA Tournament in 2016, Wade coached UH to the national semifinals in 2017. Despite ending another season with a loss, it was then that he realized the program was set up for sustained success.
"I kind of looked at the roster, and I'm like, 'We're pretty good, and I think we're going to be good next year and the foreseeable future,'" Wade recalled. "Obviously, since 2015 we have been good, pretty steady throughout there, which has been really elusive in men's volleyball with only four and a half scholarships for so long that there is this kind of cyclical nature to teams, and we've been fortunate enough to be able to build it to a point where we've been one of the best teams throughout that whole run.”
Wade led the Rainbow Warriors to national championships in 2021 and 2022. Although the 'Bows won the national championship match in 2002, the victory was stripped by the NCAA due to use of an ineligible player.
Current middle blocker Kurt Nusterer was caught off guard when asked about Wade's upcoming milestone.
“He doesn't talk about it a lot. One of the respectable things about him is he's so focused on what is most meaningful to us," Nusterer said. "After a big win, he'll tell us we have yet to accomplish anything meaningful to us. We're always chasing that game in May. We’ll all obviously wish him congratulations. He's actually very humble in that regard and it's one of the things I really like about him. He won't spend a lot of time talking about himself in that manner. I’ll be sure to congratulate him.”
Perhaps playing and winning consistently in front of the masses is old hat to Nusterer, but that certainly isn't the case for Fey.
“It's super humbling. I don't want to sound like a grumpy alumni like, ‘You know, back in my day,’ but man, it's really impressive to see how far it's come, and to tell stories with these guys and tell them what it was like and how lucky they are, and not to take any of it for granted," Fey says. "Even for me playing overseas (in Italy and Greece), you take it for granted a little bit, the aloha here and how special it is and all the fans. So, never take it for granted, that's what I tell them. Take advantage of the autograph sessions. Always say hi to that next person, especially that little kid that could be on the team in 10 years.”
Wade's coaching staff, which also includes Chad Giesseman and ace global recruiter Milan Zarkovic, has assembled a roster that features players hailing from four different countries, six U.S. states and six separate Hawai‘i high schools. The roster also includes 2024 consensus Hawai‘i player of the year Kainoa Wade, Charlie's son.
With win No. 300 around the corner, a true sign of success and longevity in college indoor sports, Wade thinks his program is just getting started.
"I still believe that we are in an ascendant phase. The best is yet to come to the program," Wade said. "Excited about the guys we brought in this year. We're putting together a lot of talent, a lot of guys that can play at a high level. So that part, to me, is really exciting. And like I said, I think the best is yet to come.”
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
