Despite losing its first match this season, the Hawaii men’s volleyball team remained at No. 4 in this week’s AVCA Top 20, while freshman opposite hitter Kristian Titriyski was named the Big West Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.
Titriyski averaged 4.00 kills and 4.78 points per set in a two-match home split last week against Stanford, which rose one spot to No. 8 in this week’s rankings.
The 6-foot-8 native of Sofia, Bulgaria, set a career high with 21 kills in Friday’s four-set loss to the Cardinal. He hit .472 with six digs, four blocks and two aces.
Titriyski is fourth in the Big West and seventh nationally averaging 4.86 points per set, and his .611 aces per set are fifth in the conference and sixth in the nation.
Titriyski is the second UH player to earn the Big West’s top weekly honor this season, after fellow freshman Adrien Roure won it the first week of the season.
The Top 5 in the latest AVCA rankings remained the same, with Long Beach State holding the top spot over No. 2 UC Irvine after beating No. 3 UCLA in four sets on Friday. Loyola Chicago jumped Brigham Young for sixth with the Cougars dropping to No. 7.
Stanford jumped Ball State into the eighth spot. Grand Canyon moved ahead of Pepperdine to round out the Top 10.
Ah Mow announces spring exhibitions
Hawaii women’s volleyball coach Robyn Ah Mow said Monday night on “Call the Coach with Robyn Ah Mow” on KKEA 1402-AM that the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team is set to host Arizona State and Wisconsin for spring exhibition matches in March.
Ah Mow, who recently signed a two-year contract extension through the 2027 season, said on the show that Hawaii would host the Sun Devils on March 10 and 11 and then play the Badgers on March 25 and 26.
She hinted that the match on the 26th could be held on another island, but nothing is final yet.
Jessup sinks UH Hilo with last-second shot
Brianna Byrnes hit the winning jumper with less than a second on the game clock as Jessup beat UH Hilo 53-52 on Monday in Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium in Hilo.
The Vulcans (4-16, 2-12 PacWest) had gone ahead 52-51 on the Warriors (11-13, 6-10) with 21 seconds left when Mindy Kawaha made the second of two free throws.
Caiyle Kaupu led UHH with 17 points. Giselle Dogan had a game-high 19 points to lead the Warriors.
