Hawaii men’s volleyball team defeats No. 20 McKendree in season opener
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Tread Rosenthal, left, Kurt Nusterer and Clay Wieter were up for a block against the McKendree Bearcats during a men’s NCAA volleyball match on Friday at the SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
Freshman outside hitter Adrien Roure put down a match-high 17 kills in his Hawaii debut and another newcomer, senior Clay Wieter, added 14 kills and three blocks to lead the fourth-ranked Rainbow Warriors to a hard-fought 25-20, 20-25, 25-22, 25-22 win over No. 20 McKendree tonight in the season opener for both teams.
A SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 4,185 watched UH win its 12th consecutive season opener, but it didn’t come easy.
The Bearcats had the match tied at one set apiece and led 14-11 in the third set when freshman middle Justin Todd had a kill and then was in on three consecutive blocks to give UH a lead.
Hawaii had only one block before Todd’s run and the Moanalua alum, who entered the match to start the third set, finished with four kills and five blocks.
Freshman Finn Kearney, who also subbed into the match for the first time to start the third set, put down the match-ending kill and finished with seven in 12 swings with five digs and two blocks.
Hawaii hit .362 to the Bearcats’ .323 despite a combined 37 hitting and service errors.
Don't miss out on what's happening!
Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
The two teams will play again Sunday at 5 p.m.
