For a brief moment, it appeared the No. 3 University of Hawai‘i men's volleyball team had another improbable comeback in store, but it was not to be as the No. 5 USC men's volleyball team closed out the Rainbow Warriors 25-21, 25-20, 26-28, 25-21 on Saturday night.
A Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 7,771 on Saturday night provided a true championship feel when the 'Bows and Trojans took the floor against each other, with both teams entering 2-0 in the final match in the Outrigger Invitational.
Both USC and UH swept its previous opponents in the tournament, Penn State and Ball State. USC did not come out fazed, jumping to a 15-11 lead in the first set before taking the frame. Dillon Klein had six kills on seven swings as the Trojans hit .545 in the first set. Klein finished with 21 kills and just one error on 34 swings, hitting an efficient .588 to take home tournament MVP honors.
"There's no question they played really good, and we really didn't play up to our numbers," UH head coach Charlie Wade said following the match, a grind that took two hours and 52 minutes. "Kind of where you are in a big match like this, you hope somebody's going to kind of elevate their game. ... We were a little off across the board, and Dillon Klein was amazing. It was really impressive. They deserve all the credit. Got to tip your hat to them, and that's the way it goes sometimes."
After taking the first two sets, the Trojans (16-2) served while 24-23 and 25-24 in the third set, but the 'Bows (19-2) fended off both match points and eventually won the set. The comeback was reminiscent of when the 'Bows fought off four set points against Harvard on Jan. 10 and six at BYU on Jan. 31. A determined Trojans squad took a quick 7-3 lead in the fourth set and never looked back, leading by five as late as 23-18.
During Thursday's Outrigger opener against Penn State, UH freshman Kristian Titriyski had 14 kills on 25 swings, hitting .400. On Saturday, he had a season-high 23 kills but also committed 12 hitting errors, hitting .224. After a chippy ending between the two teams, Titriyski left the floor early.
"He sets a high standard for himself," Wade said of Titriyski. "I think he's an emotional guy that's upset he didn't play well and his team lost, and he's certainly not shy about showing his emotions in that moment."
Saturday night served as Hawai‘i's final nonconference match of the 2025 season, another opportunity for the 'Bows to bolster their resume, but it was an opportunity lost at the hands of the Trojans, who compete in the MPSF.
"All wins are good, all losses are bad, whether it's the first match of the season, the last match of the season, everything in between," Wade said. "I don't get all the talk of the (NCAA Tournament) at-large through the whole year. The only time that's really going to be relevant almost is into the last part of the season, because there's so much volleyball to be played. (USC) plays in a top league. We play in a top league. There's upsets and every night you're going to play teams the rest of the year that have a chance to win, especially in our league, where every team is going to be ranked. There's so much volleyball to be played. The more you win, the better chance you have.
"And at the end, like we've always said, there'll be one match in our league that'll get (an automatic bid). We have to be in it. We have to win it. And I've said multiple times, I do not believe that the NCAA committee is going to give three bids and both at-larges to one league. I just don't think that's how they're wired. I don't think it's in their DNA to do that, even if it was the right thing, or whatever it would have to be."
Hawai‘i will remain home ahead of an idle weekend before taking on UC San Diego for a Big West Conference series from March 28-29.
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
