The U.S. men’s volleyball team, with two players from Hawaii in the starting lineup, opened the Tokyo Qualification Tournament with a 3-1 victory over Belgium in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on Friday.
Setter Micah Christenson (Kamehameha) helped the U.S. hit .586 in the 25-20, 25-19, 17-25, 25-18 victory. Christenson had three blocks and two kills.
Erik Shoji (Punahou) was the libero.
Also on the roster but not playing were Kawika Shoji (‘Iolani) and Micah Ma’a (Punahou).
“(Belgium) had some amazing plays in the third set,” Christenson said in a press release from USA Volleyball. “I don’t necessarily think we played our best, but we didn’t play bad. We didn’t give up. We expected a battle. I’m super excited about how we responded in the fourth.”
The U.S. will play Korea today at 7 a.m. in the second match of the round-robin tournament. The tournament winner qualifies for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The U.S. plays host Netherlands on Sunday at 4 a.m. Matches are being shown live on the Olympic Channel (Spectrum 202) and NBCSports.com/live, with replays on NBC Sports Network (Spectrum 210).
Also Friday, the Netherlands came back from 0-2 to beat Korea 23-25, 25-27, 26-24, 25-20, 15-12.
McKibbin brothers win silver in snow
The U.S. snow volleyball team, with three players from Hawaii on the four-man team, took silver at the FIVB Snow Volleyball Tour in Bariloche, Argentina, earlier this month.
Brothers Riley, Maddison and Jameson McKibbin (all Punahou graduates), along with Troy Field, lost to Argentina 10-25, 20-18, 15-11, in the gold medal match. Field and Riley and Maddison McKibbin earned gold in April’s event in Plan de Corones, Italy.
In the women’s division, the U.S. team — with three former Rainbow Wahine players, tied for fifth after losing to Argentina in the quarterfinals. Ex-beach All-Americans Karissa Cook and Katie Spieler, as well as Wahine indoor All-American Emily Hartong, were joined by Allie Wheeler, losing 15-9, 8-15, 15-13.
The U.S. team finished second at the April tournament.
Honolulu softball still undefeated
The Honolulu little league softball team continued pool play in the 11-12 Softball World Series at Portland, Ore., on Friday with a win against the Philippines, 7-0.
Honolulu was led by Jenna Sniffen, who pitched two scoreless innings and had a double and three RBIs.
They are now 3-0 in pool play and will play Mexico on Sunday at 7 a.m. on the ESPN Plus app.
KRU Baseball wins U.S. championship
The KRU Baseball team out of Hawaii took down Flood City, Pa., 7-4 on Friday at the Cal Ripken 12/70 World Series in Branson, Mo., to win the U.S. championship.
Moe Passi gave KRU the lead in the top of the ninth inning with a three-run double to break the 4-4 tie.
KRU will play today at 10 a.m. against Mexico for the 12/70 World Series title. The game can be streamed at https://watchstadium.com/live
Hawaii Kai Red Sox 1-1 in pool play
The Hawaii Kai Red Sox team are 1-1 in pool play at the 13U Babe Ruth World Series at Westfield, Mass., after losing their first game 8-2 on Thursday against Greenville, N.C., then winning their second game on Friday, 14-1 in five innings against Centre County, Pa.
In Friday’s game, Taylin Oana led the Red Sox, going 3-for-4 with two runs and a run batted in.
Hawaii Kai will continue pool play today against Pittsfield, Mass., 11 a.m.
