‘Let's enjoy the ride:' UH ready for NCAA clash with Penn State
COLOMBUS, Ohio (KHON2) — The University of Hawaii Men's Volleyball team is just one day away from beginning their quest for another national title.
KHON2 is in Ohio, where the NCAA championship is being held and got a closer look on how the 'Bows are preparing. The tournament is taking place at the Covelli Center at The Ohio State University
Hawaii denied latest bid to host NCAA men's volleyball tournament
The Rainbow Warriors will battle it out with the Penn State Nittany Lions — 2nd seed vs. 7th seed — at the 2025 Men's Volleyball National Championship at 7:30 a.m. Hawaii time on Thursday, May 8.
KHON2 caught up with some of the Hawaii players and head coach Charlie Wade. They are feeling cool, calm, collected and ready to win it all.
'I think there's a level of confidence I've seen with the guys and how they're communicating with each other and the level of engagement that tells me, that we're ready to compete and, let's enjoy the ride,' Wade said.
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That confidence showed on the tournament court on Wednesday, May 7. The 'Bows held their first practice inside Covelli Center to get a feel for the space before Thursday's match.
'Every gym is different. There are lights in different spots. The service line is a certain distance back I mean you just got to go get used to playing in there,' said Tread Rosenthall, UH starting setter
'Well, you know, it's huge, just get acclimated with the lighting. This is a great facility built for volleyball. So no lights directly above the court. They're more comfortable serving, but, the more of, we just kind of get the cobwebs out, get the jitters out a little bit. So, certainly important first step for us,' coach Wade said.
'Bows win Big West Conference Championship in 4 sets
Hawaii's team is no stranger to the NCAA championship stage — they have made it to three out of four of the last tournaments — but this group is still very much its own while stressing loyalty to the team's culture.
'So, everyone had like their own style of play. And I think once we all bought into it, like everything just evolved and our game just improved a lot, so I'm very excited to see what we can do in this tournament,' said 'Eleu Choy, UH starting libero.
Their first test will be a rematch with Penn State — a team that the 'Bows beat in March at the Stan Sheriff.
'So you know, one of the the nice things is we have a game against a team we've already played before and I can really confidently say that nothing that they're going to do is going to be able to surprise us, it's all going to be what's going to be going on on our side of the net to determine the outcome of that game,' said UH starting middle Kurt Nusterer.
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The Hawaii vs. Penn State game can be watched on ESPN+ on T.V. and folks can also listen to it on the radio via ESPN Honolulu.
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