Dave Reardon: Watching No. 2 UH volleyball is a kick so far

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Ron Tidhar made the play of the night Friday, one worthy of ESPN’s “SportsCenter ” Top 10.

It was a kick save and a beauty, as Marv Albert used to say during hockey broadcasts. It’s what they call a bicycle kick in soccer. Pretty rare in volleyball, but totally legal.

“Man, he went crashing into those chairs, ” Hawaii coach Charlie Wade said.

And the crowd of around 6, 000 at The Stanley loved it, as it did all 95 minutes of the University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team’s sweep over New Jersey Institute of Technology in the season opener.

Everybody says their fans are the best. When it comes to volleyball, Hawaii’s really are.

A few minutes after leading the Warriors in blocks and aces (and assists, of course ), UH’s All-America setter Tread Rosenthal was asked about what makes the Hawaii fans special.

“I think the energy, and I would say it showed when (Tidhar ) got that kick up, ” said Rosenthal, who has played all over the world with the U.S. junior national team. “I think these guys just love volleyball and they like to see cool plays.”

It didn’t matter that Tidhar plays for the visiting team ; Hawaii’s volleyball aficionados have a reputation for appreciating great play by the guests, too—but not too many, of course.

That was nowhere near a problem Friday, and on the kick-save play the fans got the best of both worlds. It extended one of the match’s few rallies, but the Warriors still won the point.

UH never trailed in any of the three sets, winning 25-11, 25-16 and 25-14.

Nearly a third of the Highlanders’ points came on UH service errors, which is something you can bet will be tidied up for today’s rematch.

In every other way, the Warriors were an efficient volleyball machine, from side-to-side and front-to-back. They allowed zero blocks and zero aces, and they hit.517 to.045 for the Highlanders.

The first thing Wade mentioned at his postmatch press conference was the crowd.

“People standing in line to come in, that’s something we’re never going to take for granted, ” the two-time national championship coach said. “We’re so appreciative of people taking the time and spending the money to come. We’re doing our best to put on a show and win matches.”

Then he marveled at the stats—mostly how few mistakes this team made while playing at such a literally high level. They had just four hitting errors and zero in setting, blocking or receiving.

Maybe the opponents had something to do with it—NJIT is not UCLA or Long Beach State. But they’re not horrible, either ; they were made to look that way by the Warriors.

Sometimes a team plays so consistently well that you can get numb to it. The way UH performed Friday night reminded me of how the football team was routinely incredible during the best games of quarterback Colt Brennan’s career.

Those football teams had many talented players that did not start. It looks like the same thing might happen with this volleyball squad.

“Everyone here knows what they signed up for. … The best players want to come play with other good players, ” Wade said. “This is the best of the best on a global level. These are the best players in the world at their age group, and that is not hyperbolic. That is a fact.”

Another is that after the national championships of 2022 and 2023, the inevitable decline was not steep, and not for long.

UH returned to the NCAA Tournament last year, and was ranked No. 2 in the nation entering this season, with Rosenthal running the show for a third year after Jakob Thelle. Now the list of stars includes Kristian Titriyski, Adrien Roure and Louis Sakanoko, who the fans already know. There are plenty more, including transfer Trevell Jordan in the middle and hitter Kainoa Wade, the coach’s son who played well when he got chances as a freshman last year and did not play Friday due to injury. Quintin Greenidge led the defense with 10 digs at libero in the opener.

“We’re still getting better, getting better recruits. Across the board, ” Charlie Wade said. “Fan support keeps going up. It’s an exciting time to be a part of the program.”

Just don’t expect a lot of kick saves from the Warriors, as they don’t plan on having to scramble around very much.

But you can count on plenty of wins.

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