MĀNOA — The No. 3 University of Hawai‘i men's volleyball team closed out its first home series in over a month in style on Friday night, sweeping No. 6 BYU 25-18, 25-21, 25-16 on Friday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Following the cancellation of an NIL tournament set to feature Hawai‘i, UCLA, Long Beach State and USC in Anaheim, Calif., UH pivoted quickly, setting up a home series with BYU, one of the school's historic rivals. The Rainbow Warriors originally weren't going to play any home matches in February but instead scheduled a pair of matches for the UH-BYU Rivalry Series, presented by OUTRIGGER, on Wednesday and Friday.
In lieu of the lost proceeds from the NIL tournament, a portion of UH's ticket sales on Wednesday and Friday will go toward the program's NIL fund. The Rainbow Warriors sold 5,568 tickers for Wednesday's match, a four-set victory over the Cougars. Meanwhile, a season-high crowd of 6,493 entered the turnstiles on Friday after 6,989 tickets were sold for the finale.
Hawai‘i rewarded its fans with a dominant victory over the Cougars, hitting an efficient .446. Louis Sakanoko had a match-high 15 kills for the Rainbow Warriors, wile Adrien Roure added 11. Defensively, the 'Bows had zero service reception errors, not allowing the Cougars to serve a single ace.
"We're really humbled again. Night after night, people come out here. We keep trying to put a good show on. And I think we're a pretty good return on investment," Hawai‘i head coach Charlie Wade said following Friday's match. "We just keep trying to put on a good show, and having people keep coming out and supporting. It's awesome. It's what these guys look for. It's why they come here. It's why they train hard on a daily basis, train hard in the offseason.
"Having 7,000 people show up doesn't help you block any balls, but man, it gives you the motivation to keep going in and working and getting better. So, you come out here every night and make sure they're getting their money's worth."
Another financial incentive for the team on Friday night was the debut of its floral jerseys, which went up for auction following the match. Online bidding for the game-worn jerseys is set to end at 6 p.m. on Sunday. UH says that in past game-worn jersey auctions, tens of thousands of dollars have been raised toward the program.
On Friday, the majority of the 6,493 fans were dressed in red to commemorate Lunar New Year. "That was a little different, but just glad to see red more than green chairs for sure," Wade said.
Hawai‘i's series against BYU was the start of nine consecutive weeks of multiple matches for the Rainbow Warriors. BYU, which entered the series winners of nine straight, leave town with a mark of 13-4. Meanwhile, the Rainbow Warriors exit the weekend 14-1 and winners of 11 straight matches ahead of a home series next Wednesday and Friday against No. 7 Pepperdine.
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
