Hawaii men’s volleyball advances to Big West semifinals with victory over UC Santa Barbara

The University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team opened Big West Tournament play with a 23-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-23 win over UC Santa Barbara at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

Hawaii improved to 23-6 overall for the 2024 season and will face UC Irvine in Friday night’s semifinals, while UC Santa Barbara’s season ends at 9-18.

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A crowd of 5,940 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the Rainbow Warriors compete in the first round of the Big West Tournament for the first time in program history. Prior to Thursday, the ‘Bows had been seeded 2 or better every year since 2018, the first year the Big West began to sponsor men’s volleyball.

The Rainbow Warriors, who outlasted the Gauchos in five sets on senior night at the end of March, lost the first set after hitting .182 with five hitting errors, but took the next three sets behind a team-high 13 kills from Alaka’i Todd and Kurt Nusterer’s seven kills on eight swings.

UCSB star player Geste Bianchi had a match-high 24 kills for the Gauchos.

First serve between the Rainbow Warriors and Anteaters is set for 7 p.m. in Friday’s second semifinals.

In the first quarterfinal matchup on Thursday, Cal State Northridge swept UC San Diego to advance to the first semifinal against top seed Long Beach State.