On Friday, No. 13 UC San Diego men’s volleyball (12-12, 3-6 Big West) fell to No. 2 Hawai’i (24-4, 7-1 Big West) in a hard-fought straight-set loss at LionTree Arena. Despite nine lead changes and the Tritons’ consistent effort, the Rainbow Warriors countered their every move, sweeping UCSD 3-0 to begin their two-day stay in La Jolla. The Tritons came back on Saturday to beat Hawai’i 3-1, ending the Rainbow Warriors’ undefeated conference streak in a massive upset to split the series.
“I think tonight, like, we played very tense,” redshirt junior outside hitter Josh Ewert said in a postgame interview with The UCSD Guardian on Friday. “It wasn’t our usual ball. Usually, we’re a lot looser and we come together. But today, it was very individual with how we were playing, so I think that prevented us [from] turning everything around.”
After Hawai‘i struck first with a kill and an ace, UCSD redshirt junior outside hitter Leo Pravednikov fired back with two of his own to put the Tritons on the board. Junior outside hitter Sebastiano Sani and Ewert began a game-long offensive charge, scoring the next 4 points for the Tritons.
“My teammates just trust me, and it gives me a newfound confidence just to keep jumping and swinging at the ball as hard as I can,” Ewert said.
The set leaders traded hands repeatedly until a 4-point Hawai’i run allowed the Rainbow Warriors to build a 20-15 lead. Although the Tritons delayed the loss for another 6 points, UCSD was unable to turn the tide, and Hawai’i took the first set 25-21.
The Tritons kept chasing the Rainbow Warriors in the second set. UCSD’s offensive anchors, Sani and Ewert, continued a relentless exchange with Hawai’i sophomore opposite hitter Kristian Titriyski and junior outside hitter Louis Sakanoko. The two Rainbow Warriors put up a combined 13 kills and 18 assists to keep the Tritons on defense. Hawai’i ultimately won the set 25-18.
The Tritons then began their strongest performance of the night, giving Hawai’i no room to score early in the third set. Redshirt senior middle blocker Jim Garrison and Pravednikov energized the Tritons, both contributing 2 points to UCSD’s early 4-0 lead.
The Rainbow Warriors regained the serve, but the Tritons didn’t allow them to come back in the first half of the set. Garrison formed a wall along the front row, and Sani repeatedly tipped the ball over the net, extending UCSD’s lead to 7-3.
To make up the deficit, Hawai’i went on a 3-point run to balance the scoreboard at 7-6, with the Tritons still ahead. However, UCSD secured a 4-point streak in response; Ewert came back for a kill and Sani for two.
Hawai’i then called a timeout, halting the Tritons’ momentum. The Rainbow Warriors regained their rhythm, with service control going back and forth until a 4-point burst pushed Hawai’i into the lead at 17-16.
The Tritons seemed to be a completely different team in the second half of the set; they were unable to make a dent in the Rainbow Warriors’ performance. A string of service and attack errors opened the door for Hawai’i to close out the match, finishing 25-21.
“Third set, I think we just, we were on fire,” Ewert said. “We had a lot of energy to start off, and we just let a few service errors really take down our energy, so we weren’t really performing after.”
The loss, though discouraging, was not the end of the Tritons’ weekend with the Rainbow Warriors. UCSD faced Hawai’i again at LionTree Arena the following day.
“No matter what happens [tomorrow], like, we’re here to have fun, and that helps us play a lot looser together and really thrive together as a team,” Ewert said.
Ewert did just that in the rematch against Hawai’i on Saturday. He put up 10 kills in UCSD’s victory — second only to Sani, who racked up 18. The Tritons made a season-high 15 blocks to fend off the Rainbow Warriors and stage the upset, which ended Hawai’i’s seven-game winning streak. Saturday’s win marked UCSD’s first-ever defeat of a top-two Big West opponent.
The Tritons will take on UC Santa Barbara for their Senior Night on Saturday at LionTree Arena.
