HONOLULU — Several times in a brisk, one-hour match Friday night, the crowd of 1,862 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center clapped and cheered for people who were put in situations they’d never before experienced.
That applied nearly equally for Hawaii, which had the luxury of playing mostly backups, and Edward Waters University, which played an official men’s volleyball match for the first time, period.
The reserves of UH, the defending national champion and top-ranked team in the country, still made quick work of the debuting Tigers, 25-11, 25-7, 25-10.
Edward Waters coach Brandon Reeves got the experience he wanted for his team, if not the result from the first half of a trip that was six months in the making.
“That’s what we want to see. We want to see where we’re at – going against the Warriors, (ranked) No. 1,” Reeves said. “I know the score didn’t detect how hard we did play, but I’m proud of my guys for sticking in there and finishing three sets. I think we’ll be a little bit stronger the next match, because I feel like we already know some things we need to change. It’s just first-game jitters. Some kids have never been on a big stage like this. We’ll shake that off and get to the next game.”
The teams’ rematch is 5 p.m. Sunday.
UH coach Charlie Wade said afterward the timing of the matches over the weekend preceding the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Monday was a coincidence when the teams set it up, as UH (3-0) had pukas in its schedule it needed to fill.
UH hitter Kana‘i Akana chose to see the timing of the matches against the Historically Black College and University school from Jacksonville, Fla., as meaningful, anyway. The program was only established last fall.
“That was a big moment. I’m glad that they got that opportunity,” said Akana, who himself took advantage of an expanded playing opportunity Friday in tying for the team lead with six kills on 10 swings. “They gave it their all and they definitely competed. Max energy, max effort. Especially going into Martin Luther King weekend, it all ties together and really appreciative for that moment.”
There was value in the match for UH, as well, as the starters mostly bowed out after the first set and gave way to the B team.
"I always talk about trying to reward behavior," Wade said. "These guys have been working hard, some of them for years, in our practice gym. You want to give them a shot. The beautiful thing was how efficient everybody was."
Akana, Keoni Thiim, Avery Enriques, Alaka‘i Todd, Cole Hogland, Kyler Presho and backup setter Jack Walmer were among those to see unprecedented amounts of floor time.
Wade noted that Reeves took the initiative to set up the trip.
“I think it’s a really exciting time for our sport where there’s not just new programs, but whole new leagues and all these teams coming in,” Wade said. “We have to welcome them into the brotherhood of Division I men’s volleyball. They need to start playing us and we need to play them. Two years from now, this league (the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) is going to be in the NCAA tournament. These are legitimate opponents. Obviously, we were a little farther ahead than they were tonight, but I think they’ve got a very bright future.”
Reeves said that serve-receive was the area his team needed to shore up the most from Game 1 to Game 2. UH had 11 aces, including five by starting setter Jakob Thelle, all in Set 1.
It was actually Edward Waters that struck first with an ace, by Oneil Daley, in the first official point (and lead) of Edward Waters’ volleyball existence.
The rest of the night went quickly in the other direction – UH hit .564 to EWU’s negative-0.29 – but the Tigers showed few signs of being discouraged. Kaelen Ingram led EWU with seven kills on 17 swings.
“We know we got the offense. If we get a good ball up in the air, they can put the ball away,” Reeves said. “But it starts with the first contact.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: Right before first serve, news broke of Todd Graham's resignation as UH football coach. (Jan. 15, 2022)