HONOLULU — In the morning, the Hawaii men’s volleyball team was bestowed a top-four preseason ranking by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

In the evening, the heavily remade Rainbow Warriors showed why.

Charlie Wade’s company, bristling with freshly imported armaments, overpowered visiting British Columbia in an exhibition in advance of Friday’s 2025 season opener against No. 20 McKendree of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association.

A free-admission crowd of about 4,300 turned out for the show at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center on Monday night. After UH won in straight sets, 25-18, 25-14, 25-19, the teams agreed to play a fourth set with reserves in the lineup. That was won by BCU, 25-22.

Wade, in his 16th year leading the program, thanked the fans for coming out on a microphone from the court before the match and expressed appreciation in an interview afterward.

"Excited for a new season and just really appreciative of everyone coming out here and supporting and hoping we put on a good show and they come back on Friday," he said.

UH’s three returning starters — setter Tread Rosenthal, middle Kurt Nusterer and libero ‘Eleu Choy  — were joined in the opening lineup by freshman hitter Adrien Roure, freshman opposite Kristian Titriyski, freshman middle Ofeck Hazan and senior hitter Clay Wieter.

Even with seven true freshmen in the fold, the team will not be allowed to use youth as a crutch, Wade said, given the incoming class' extensive international experience. 

Roure, a member of France’s junior national team, was impressive with eight kills on 13 error-free swings, including a rocket that ricocheted off the face of a Thunderbirds player in the first set. Roure went under the net and over to the BCU bench to make sure the player was OK, and play resumed. UH jumped out to a 17-6 lead before BCU settled in and gave the Rainbow Warriors some issues in serve-receive to narrow the gap.

"I think what you saw for the night is kind of par for the course," Wade said. "You’re going to see some really good stuff and there’s some kind of cringy stuff. But overall a lot to be excited about. A lot of really talented players that have played volleyball at a really high level and looking forward to seeing how far we can go with this group."

UH is coming off a 23-7 season that saw it lose All-America hitter Spyros Chakas to a devastating leg injury midway through his senior year, a heavy contributing factor to the program's NCAA Tournament streak ending at four years. The Rainbow Warriors reached the championship match all four times, winning it all in 2021 and 2022.

UCLA was named the preseason AVCA No. 1 team coming off its second straight championship. UH's Big West rivals Long Beach State and UC Irvine followed at Nos. 2 and 3, then UH, giving the BWC three of the top four and six of the top 18 with Cal State Northridge, UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego.

"That was, I think, pretty predictable," Wade said. "The status quo. Those three (Big West) teams seem like they’ve been in the top five in the country for several years now. This year’s not going to be any different."

Titriyski, who is in Bulgaria’s national team system and shares his hometown of Sofia with former UH great Rado Parapunov, showcased considerable power on his pin attacks and serves, with an exceptionally long toss and leap over the service line.

He said he was wowed by the crowd, having played in front of a maximum of 2,000 with Bulgarian teams.

"My friend Rado told me that the crowds here is something special," Titriyski said. "This is the right way. It’s something special and it’s true. I saw it, it’s true."

Wieter, a transfer from Lindenwood, notched three aces.

Rosenthal has already experienced growth in his second college season, having risen 2 inches to 6 feet 11. He directed UH to a .373 hitting night while British Columbia (7-3) hit .139. BCU, which competes in the Canada West league, is on a break from its regular-season competition.

Another touted UH recruit, U.S. junior national teamer Finn Kearney, saw action as a serving sub and with the second unit, as did last year's dynamic freshman, Louis Sakanoko.

While Wade worked in 13 of the 19 players on the roster, his son, Kamehameha graduate Kainoa Wade, was not among them.

The coach affirmed afterward that the intention is to let Kainoa Wade play this season and not redshirt him. "The NCAA went on vacation," Charlie Wade said as to the status of his son, the state player of the year at Kamehameha who graduated early over the holiday break prior to what would've been his high school senior year.

Wade could not compare the stacked incoming class of 11 players to any he's had previously at UH. The availability of cost-of-attendance stipends, Alston award money and Name, Image and Likeness opportunities have contributed to a new age in the sport. And for the Rainbow Warriors, a run of success since 2018 has yielded high-profile recruits dometically to match past success on the international front.

"There are more resources to put together a roster this talented," Wade said.

The night was capped by a series of well wishes for the coming season from former Rainbow Warriors. Messages from All-Americans Chakas and Jakob Thelle on the overhead screen in the Sheriff received some of the loudest cheers.

Note: This story was updated with details and quotes.

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.