HONOLULU — It was close, but the No. 4 Hawaii men’s volleyball team managed to preserve its unbeaten start to the season on Wednesday night.

A crowd of 5,880 (6,832 tickets issued) witnessed the Rainbow Warriors outlast No. 9 Stanford, 23-25, 25-20, 25-19, 20-25, 16-14, through some shaky moments at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Setter Tread Rosenthal clinched it on UH’s second match point, throwing down a two-handed dump shot that was upheld on a Stanford challenge of a net violation.

Hawai’i takes it in 🖐🏾 over Stanford, 23-25 25-20 25-19 20-25 16-14.

Rainbow Warriors improve to 9-0. Hana hou on Friday!#HawaiiMVB 🏐🏐🏐 pic.twitter.com/QsbCFosJp3 — Spectrum Sports HI (@specsportshi) February 6, 2025

Rosenthal, who had six kills, felt he’d been single-covered all night.

“I was just trying to get my hitters going. But then at the end, just throw it down and get out of there, I guess,” he said.

Coming off an emotionally tinged two-match road sweep of rival BYU last weekend, UH (9-0) appeared poised for a letdown early in its return home against a former MPSF rival in the Cardinal (3-4). The ‘Bows were outblocked 12-5 and outhit .290 to .269 but found a way to win.

UH coach Charlie Wade noted the team flew back from Provo, Utah, on Sunday, held a light practice on Monday and shortened preparation on Tuesday.

(“After) some real emotional matches you always worry a little bit about, how that’s going to be (on a) quick turnaround,” Wade said. “It seems like we’ve said this a handful of times, that we’re able to able to find a way to win when we’re not playing well. Obviously the crowd, I think, helped tonight, but we did the same thing last week on the road.

“We’re kind of doing it for a set here, set there. I’m hopeful that by the time we get to March and April, will be more consistent.”

The teams rematch at 7 p.m. Friday. Wade was hopeful for a large turnout akin to last year’s Feb. 9 match on a Friday that saw more than 9,000 tickets issued.

Rosenthal said the team would bring a better emotional effort.

“It’s a little different (coming off the BYU games),” the setter said. “I think on the road, you have that little fire — just like (screw) everybody, let’s just win by ourselves. And coming back, we just kind of lost it a little bit and just wasn’t fully focused. So I think coming into Friday, we just got to be fully locked into what we’re doing at the time.”

Also requiring adjustment was the Cardinal’s tendency to come at the net with off-speed attacks, something UH rarely does in its practice gym. It was something Rosenthal, who prepped in Southern California, said he expected from encountering many of Stanford’s players in club play.

Opposite Kristian Titriyski put down 15 kills and Louis Sakanoko, making his second straight start, added 14 and Adrien Roure had 13. Rosenthal had 48 assists, seven digs and three aces.

Sakanoko supplied .345 hitting and fairly consistent serving. Wade estimated the sophomore has put about 90% of his serves in play over the last three matches, the magic number from the line that Wade always looks for.

“I think when he came last year, he was just trying to do way too much,” Wade said. “And the best thing about him right now is watching him just kind of modulate, you know, and not just have to go full throttle the whole time where he can control himself from the service line and attack.”

It was UH’s 12th straight win in the series dating back to 2017.

UH fell behind by a set when middle Ofeck Hazan hit wide with a chance to send the opening frame to extra points.

Middle Kurt Nusterer’s service turn during an 8-0 UH run swung a tossup Set 3 in UH’s favor. Nusterer had three aces.

“If you look at the game, I didn’t really contribute a whole lot outside of that,” Nusterer said, “And, you know, we always talk about justifying your existence, and if I’m going to play that mediocre and all other aspects of the game, I feel the need to at least contribute in one way, to stay out there. I feel like in Provo I wasn’t doing anything offensively or from the service line in particular … just got a lot of blocks. And today was one service run that I think helped the team out. Going forward, it’s gonna have to be a lot better on all fronts to make the team better.”

Stanford blitzed through Set 4 with very little resistance as UH hit .129 in the frame.

The Frenchman Sakanoko tore the front of his jersey — a brand-new Kelly green variety that UH was debuting — in frustration when he sailed a ball long late in the fourth set and got a replacement jersey heading to the fifth.

“Honestly, I was impressed,” Rosenthal said of the move. I was wondering what Charlie would do.”

Quipped Wade, “That was maybe the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen him do. I’m gonna have to take it out of his scholarship check.”

Rosenthal added, “Shout out Josh (Elms), our weights trainer.”

Rosenthal fired two aces during his service run to open up the fifth, helping UH to a 3-0 start.

Stanford rallied back by winning back-to-back jousts and took a 6-4 lead on an ace plus a UH net violation. UH reclaimed the lead by the court switch, 8-7, but it was tied up four more times, including for the last time at 14-all.

A Cardinal service error gave UH its second set point, setting up Rosenthal’s winning attack.

Wade put his son Kainoa Wade into the game when UH trailed by eight in Set 4 and kept him in the game to start Set 5. The freshman finished with three kills without an error on six swings and gave way to Titriyski late in the match.

“He’s just a low error guy, and he can play the game at a high level,” Charlie Wade said of Kainoa. “I knew when I put him in Tread was mostly going to set outside. He’d set Kainoa if he needed to. And he did, he got a few swings and put the ball away. But it was going to simplify a little bit at that point.”

Theo Snoey led the Cardinal with 19 kills and five errors on 40 swings (.350), plus nine digs. Freshman libero Evan Porter, a Punahou School alumnus, supplied six assists and eight digs for coach John Costy’s team.

Note: This story has been 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.

HONOLULU — It took a moment for the Hawaii men’s volleyball team to reconnect a couple of its key parts. But once the Rainbow Warriors did, they hummed right along.

Pin hitters Spyros Chakas and Chaz Galloway returned to the lineup after sitting out the last two matches and No. 3 UH overcame a slow start in a 21-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-12 victory over No. 5 Stanford in front of 5,212 (6,125 tickets issued) at the Stan Sheriff Center on Wednesday night.

UH (9-1) ran its winning streak over one of the nation’s power volleyball programs to 10 straight going back to 2017. The ‘Bows committed six attack errors in the first set but rebounded with just one in the second.

Chakas, the senior All-American, finished with 15 kills on 30 swings and Galloway put down seven.

“Maybe a little rust from not playing (Chakas and Galloway), and (we) certainly settled down,” coach Charlie Wade said. “(The) second set was much more efficient and kind of balanced everything out.”

Here’s Head Coach Charlie Wade on tonight’s big win over #5 Stanford.#HawaiiMVB 🏐 pic.twitter.com/MUswuIaYuq — Spectrum Sports HI (@specsportshi) February 8, 2024

The constant, both within sets Wednesday night and for the last six matches, has been sixth-year opposite Alaka‘i Todd, the Kailua native and Punahou alumnus who has rewarded consistent playing time with the best sustained production of his career. Todd put down a career-high 17 kills on .367 hitting with nine digs.

“I think the biggest thing is just our coaching staff, working with us on our whole entire game,” Todd said. “Nothing really happens without great passing. They did amazing all night – ‘Eleu (libero Choy), Chaz, Spyros – and great setting. We have a really good connection right now, me and Tread (setter Rosenthal), and it’s only going to get better.”

The teams rematch at 7 p.m. Friday.

In part due to its effective serves that forced Stanford increasingly out of system as the match progressed, UH won the blocks battle 11-4, including a solo stuff of Stanford’s Ethan Hill by middle Kurt Nusterer to take Set 3 and give UH a 2-1 overall lead.

Keoni Thiim, one of the beneficiaries of a temporary starting spot last week against Tusculum, reverted to his serving specialist role but was brimming with confidence and served out the match from 18-12 in the fourth.

“He did an amazing job,” Chakas said. “He came in last week, played as a full-time starter. And now he’s gone back to being the serving specialist, and he’s really the serving specialist, maybe the best in the country. So, very proud of him, he works very hard off and on the court, in the weight room. Hard work pays off.”

Stanford (7-2) of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation was missing its top outside hitter, Will Rottman, a second-team All-American last season who also was out for the Cardinal’s loss in its last game against Cal State Northridge. But Cardinal coach John Kosty was pleased with his team’s start Wednesday as it ran its offense smoothly and limited the damage on UH serves in the first frame; Stanford hit .355 in the first to UH’s .185.

That stat was flipped by the end of the night with UH at .346 and Stanford at .153.

Kosty acknowledged the serve-receive started getting away from his group, especially at the end as Thiim boomed diving balls in play.

“They keep the pressure on you,” Kosty said of the ‘Bows. “The fans are great; it’s a great atmosphere. Our guys battled but we just needed to make a couple more plays.”

Kevin Lamp and Moses Wagner led the Cardinal with nine kills apiece.

UH loses 4 reserves

The Rainbow Warriors were lighter in head count for Wednesday’s match as four reserves – hitter Cole Ottmar, hitter Kai Rodriguez, defensive specialist Ryan Sears and third-strong setter Austin Buchanan – were not on the bench.

Word circulated before the match that those players were no longer with the program. Wade was asked about it afterward.

“Yeah, it’s hard keeping everybody happy all the time,” Wade said. “We’re excited about the guys that are here and think we got a talented roster, and looking forward to moving forward and continuing to get better.”

Ottmar had appeared sparingly in four sets this season. Buchanan made just one appearance, though he got starts at Queens and Belmont Abbey last season in place of a resting Jakob Thelle.

Rodriguez was one of the Moanalua “Big Three” that reached the HHSAA semifinals in 2023, along with Justin Todd and Zack Yewchuk. He and Sears did not appear in a match.

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

HONOLULU — It wasn’t pretty, but the Hawaii men’s volleyball team got back to a place with which it is pretty familiar.

The third-seeded Rainbow Warriors overcame an erratic start to defeat bottom seed UC Santa Barbara, 23-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-23 and advance to face second-seeded UC Irvine on Friday night for a spot in the Outrigger Big West championships title game.

UH (23-6) overcame a sweep loss at UC San Diego in its regular-season finale on Saturday and .182 hitting in the first set Thursday to reach the BWC semifinal round, which has never been played without the Rainbow Warriors in the six editions of the tournament.

Hawai’i survives & advances! They take it in 4 over the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, 23-25 25-20 25-17 25-23.#HawaiiMVB 🏐#OnlyTheBold x #NCAAMVB pic.twitter.com/kzZcymNM6x — Spectrum Sports HI (@specsportshi) April 19, 2024

“Thrilled to get the win and advance,” UH coach Charlie Wade said.

Wade gave the nod to Keoni Thiim and Louis Sakanoko as his initial outside hitters, meaning middle Guilherme Voss was the only player in the starting seven to have prior experience in a postseason match.

That showed in front of the Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 5,940 (6,087 tickets issued), as UH committed several unforced errors and UCSB (9-18) won the opening set despite committing 10 service errors.

Once Wade called upon senior Chaz Galloway, things seemed to settle down. Galloway spelled the French freshman Sakanoko and delivered five kills, six digs and three blocks. His ace got the fans to their feet for match point.

“I felt pretty comfortable out there,” Galloway said. “Going on the court I was trying to do everything I could who didn’t have that experience and giving them words of encouragement or what I’m seeing from the sideline just to help them.”

Wade said he was “impressed” by the veteran, who has gone from a full-time player to part time in the last few of weeks as Thiim and Sakanoko emerged as viable options once Spyros Chakas went down for the season.

“(He was) very calm, saying very relevant and specific things to people,” Wade said. “It really was impressive to see him out there. He’s played in so many of these matches in front of crowds like this and certainly a lot bigger. He was kind of in his happy place and played really well.”

Freshman setter Tread Rosenthal (31 assists, nine digs) seemed to gain confidence as the match progressed and put down the match-winner himself, directing a second-touch shot with one hand to open space at the back right corner of the TaraFlex.

Opposite Alaka‘i Todd put down a team-high 13 kills and middle Kurt Nusterer was his hyperactive self with seven kills on eight swings, plus four blocks.

UH hit .379 over the last three sets after the rough first. UCSB was the opposite, hitting .458 in the first and just .179 the rest of the way.

The Gauchos went for broke, then actually broke. UH beat UCSB for the 19th straight time that included two wins on UH’s senior weekend three weeks ago.

“I think we definitely let them off the hook, to be honest,” UCSB coach Rick McLaughlin said.

“Our plan was to try to bomb some serves, because we don’t match up real well; we’re a small team,” he said. “When you have guy like Voss or Tread and some pretty big guys that can be a threat up at the net, if you can just knock them off the net, that all goes away. If we could’ve served better, it would’ve been a much closer match for sure. We didn’t do what we needed to do that.”

Former UH backup setter Jack Walmer had 33 assists, eight digs and three block assists. The Big West’s top points-per-set man, Geste Bianchi, put down 24 kills on 51 swings with eight errors (.314).

The Thursday crowd was large and loud by almost anyone’s standard, but not by the high bar UH has set for some of its postseason matches in the recent past, and nights like the regular-season finale on March 30.

The six-year veteran Todd thanked Thursday’s crowd “and all the future fans who come out tomorrow, because they’re a huge part of how we get out of these funks and how we play well,” he said. “Just having their support and hearing them, all the aunties and uncles you see in the crowd, it’s a big deal here.”

In the first match of the day, No. 5 Cal State Northridge swept No. 4 UC San Diego, 25-20, 28-26, 25-22. The Matadors advanced to face top-seeded Long Beach State in Friday’s 4:30 p.m. semifinal. UH and UCI will follow at 7 p.m. or later, depending on the length of the first match.

UH owns a 2-1 season record against UCI (19-8), which got a bye into the semifinals thanks to its top-two seeding. The Anteaters have a strong AVCA Player of the Year candidate in opposite Hilir Henno and former UH setter/libero Brett Sheward backed up his transfer to a new program by receiving All-Big West first-team honors this week.

“Obviously a super talented team,” Wade said. “Those pins are as physical as any team, more than any team in the country. Kind of like tonight, they got one big time left-handed guy they set a ton, and it’ll be a load, for sure.”

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

HONOLULU — As the occasional chee-hoo registered over the din of buzzing fans in a delirious Stan Sheriff Center, a dazed Kurt Nusterer endeavored to describe what took place.

“Fifteen-thirteen in the fifth against the number one team in the country, sold-out Stan on senior night — doesn’t get better than that,” the Hawaii volleyball team leader said.

In front of a raucous sellout crowd ( 9,771 through the turnstiles), the No. 4 Hawaii men’s volleyball team pulled off a rousing comeback to defeat No. 1 Long Beach State in five sets in the 2025 home finale at the Stan Sheriff Center on Saturday night.

Hawai’i wins! Hawai’i wins! Hawai’i wins!

Down goes The Beach in five sets, 21-25 25-20 18-25 25-19 15-13!#HawaiiMVB 🏐🏐🏐 pic.twitter.com/oQHDNqX7Z4 — Spectrum Sports HI (@specsportshi) April 13, 2025

Louis Sakanoko put down the last two kills of the night after the Beach rallied to tie the match at 13 in Set 5, the last of a dramatic series of twists and momentum swings that prompted UH coach Charlie Wade to mix and match lineups all night.

The swaggering Frechman got a shot to drop right on the back line — upheld upon review challenge by Beach coach Alan Knipe — and ended it on a roll shot over a Beach triple block to center of the court.

“Adrien (Roure) give me probably the worst set that he ever give me in his life,” Sakanoko said on the improvised play that was set up by a dig from setter Tread Rosenthal. “I know him for like, more than, like, two, three years. I’m like, okay, the (LSBU) middle was late. … I’m just gonna, like, roll shot between them.

“Big, big moment,” he added. “Really good dig from Tread, from right back. And we won. Incredible. We love it.”

UH (23-4, 6-2 Big West) moved back into a first-place tie with LBSU (24-2, 6-2) with two regular-season matches to play before the Rainbow Warriors host the Big West championship right back at the Sheriff.

Finn Kearney started at opposite for the second straight match for the injured Kristian Titriyski (ankle) and responded with 17 kills, equaling his personal best from Friday’s four-set loss to the Beach. Wade also gave the starting nod to middle Ofeck Hazan, who was effective in relief on Friday, over Justin Todd.

But by the end, everyone played their part. Kainoa Wade appeared at opposite, Kearney moved to hitter and back to opposite, Todd appeared off the bench and Roure responded from a benching to be a factor in the last two sets.

“We were throwing the kitchen sink at him there for a while,” Charlie Wade said. He called it an important win for the team’s postseason resume.

“It was a fun night, for sure, super proud of the guys for just sticking together and grinding and coming out with a win.”

Nusterer came up with several huge plays on a career night in which he had 10 kills on 12 swings without an error, and got in on six blocks.

He said he figured things only had to improve for him after he was benched mid-match on Friday, which he considered one of his worst outings.

“This has been one of the most fun nights of my life,” Nusterer said. “(I’ll) tell my kids about it. Tell my grandkids about that. God forbid I live to see my great grandkids. I’ll tell them about that too. If I remember.”

UH prevailed despite hitting .288 to LBSU’s .336.

Beach freshman star setter Moni Nikolov produced another highlight package, but the nation’s leader in aces was held without one for the second straight night.

Choy, a Farrington High graduate from the Waialae area who came into the program as a walk-on, was UH’s first line of defense on serve-receive and popped up five digs.

“Look, that is ‘Eleu’s All-American tape,” Wade said. “He took what is the best server in the NCAA and neutralized him. Last night was the first time he didn’t have an ace, and (Choy) backed it up again tonight.”

After the match, UH traditionally honored seniors Choy, Nusterer, Kawai Hong, Clay Wieter and Zachary Thompson. The whole team performed a shirtless haka.

Choy, who is getting his master’s in civil engineering, broke down in the tunnel as he awaited his senior entrance.

“We really gotta thank the fans, 10,300 people,” Choy said. “They really uplift our spirits. And I think we really appreciate the volleyball fan base here in Hawaii.”

Nusterer, and Indiana native, said this week that he has accepted a job offer in the financial sector that he could not turn down, forgoing his final year of eligibility.

Wieter came over from Lindenwood for his final year. He is hurt, but the team hopes to get him back for its stretch run that includes its last regular-season Big West matches at UC Santa Barbara (11-14, 2-6) this week.

UH came out sharper than Friday night but still could not prevent the Beach from taking the opening set.

Things got feisty between the rivals at the end of the second set, when Sakanoko put down a kill and exchanged words with Beach middle DiAeris McRaven, a Moanalua High alumnus from Salt Lake.

“He scored on me the ball before he starts to, like, trash talk,” Sakanoko said. “So I’m like, ‘Okay, why? You want to start that? I’m down. I love it.’ And the ball after it, I go over him. So I told him, ‘You can’t trash talk if I go over you — it’s not possible.’”

McRaven appeared to say something after he pounded a kill early in Set 3 and Nikolov was subsequently assessed a yellow card on the play.

LBSU weathered UH’s momentum, however, limiting the ‘Bows to .087 hitting in the set while converting .500 themselves.

UH had one more push in Set 4, claiming an early three-point lead.

Serving substitute Georgi Binev came on and dealt consecutive aces to get it tied momentarily at 13, but UH led 15-13 at the media timeout.

Nusterer and Adrien Roure stuffed Nikolov and Skyler Varga misfired on a swing to build the lead back to three and UH rode the play and the crowd’s energy to get to a fifth and deciding set — only the second time this season that a LBSU match went the distance.

Nikolov served into the net to begin Set 5 and UH maintained a narrow advantage from there. Kearney and Todd roofed Alex Kandev at the left pin for a 6-3 lead.

LBSU countered with a triple block of Roure, Sakanoko hit wide and Varga went down the line for a kill to get it to 7-7.

Kandev served long, however, and Daniil Hershtynovich hit wide (challenged unsuccessfully by Beach Coach Alan Knipe) as UH led 9-7.

Nusterer solo blocked Kandev for an 11-8 advantage, eliciting a huge roar and a LBSU timeout.

A double contact against UH on a McRaven putdown kill paused play with UH’s lead cut to 11-0. Wade challenged a net fault, unsuccessfully.

The teams traded service errors and Kandev put down and overpass to tie it up at 12.

Nusterer fired a ball off the block and out of bounds, but Roure served long.

A Sakanoko swing that was called in along the end line was challenged by Knipe. It stood and the crowd erupted once more.

After a brief volley, Sakanoko struck once more and the UH bench rushed the court.

UH registered three of its 10.5 blocks in the shortened fifth frame.

Former UH great Jakob Thelle was on hand along with former hitter Chaz Galloway to greet their former teammates on senior night.

“The guys really just stepped up a lot,” said Thelle, who has been rehabbing an injured knee in the islands as he readies for another professional season in Europe. “The seniors really showed how they can lead and get all the guys with them. I think ‘Eleu, Kurt, literally the whole team just really stepped up and showed that we can always just (get) enough magic here in Manoa.”

Note: This story has been updated with photos, quotes and details.

Correction: A previous version of the story stated Finn Kearney’s 17 kills was a new personal best. He matched his high from Friday.

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

HONOLULU — Kurt Nusterer waved his arms, tilted his head back and yelled up to the Stan Sheriff Center rafters.

For one night, he’d made it.

Nusterer, a backup middle for the top-ranked Hawaii men’s volleyball team, was pressed into service Thursday in the absence of starter Cole Hogland, who was out with an illness for the first night of the Outrigger Volleyball Invitational.

What You Need To Know The No. 1 Hawaii men’s volleyball team defeated Purdue Fort Wayne on the first night of the Outrigger Volleyball Invitational, 27-25, 25-13, 25-20 on Thursday behind 14 kills from Dimitrios Mouchlias and 12 from Spyros Chakas

UH got a lift from redshirt freshman middle Kurt Nusterer, who ably filled in for the sick Cole Hogland with four kills and three blocks in his first home start

No. 2 UCLA defeated No. 3 Penn State in five sets in Thursday’s first match; UH plays Penn State at 7 p.m. Friday after UCLA’s match against PFWU

UH is urging fans to get there early for matches on Friday and Saturday as the UH baseball and softball teams are in action at the same time at the Manoa Lower Campus

While Hogland has been an essential piece of UH’s rotation for the two-time defending national champions, there was remarkably little drop-off against opponent Purdue Fort Wayne as the 6-foot-9 redshirt freshman Nusterer put down four kills with one error on six attempts (.500) and contributed three block assists and two digs in a 27-25, 25-13, 25-20 sweep.

In his first home start, Nusterer ate up the cheers from the crowd of 3,464 (4,696 tickets issued) throughout, and reciprocated with his expressive style that made it plain how he was feeling at all times at his post at the net.

“I’m just so blessed to have gone through the process of coming in at the bottom and trying to work my way up,” Nusterer said in explanation of his high-energy persona. “When you put in that kind of work over so much time and have that dedication, it’s really hard not to get caught up in the emotions when it’s paying dividends.”

Whether Hogland will be back for Friday night’s larger-stakes clash with No. 3 Penn State is an open question. Nusterer was the first to say that he hoped so — “I’m not Cole. He’s a much different player than me. Definitely better.”

UH (16-0), in running its home winning streak to 29 matches, realized it will be in for a tougher test against the Nittany Lions, who dropped a five-setter to No. 2 UCLA in the opener of the stacked tournament.

Coach Charlie Wade voiced confidence in Nusterer, should he need to appear again. He first saw significant time on the team’s road trip to North Carolina in January. But opponents like Belmont Abbey and Barton were not the same as a home start in an event of this caliber. Even PFWU, the least name-recognized team in action here this weekend, boasted a 12-5 record and was receiving top-15 poll votes coming in.

“I know he can go in a game and play at a pretty high level and keep us the same,” Wade said. “Sad to hear Cole’s not feeling well, but good to get Kurt out there for a pretty meaningful match and let him show what he can do.”

Nusterer described a high-nerves experience. The fact that the opponent was a team from the Indianapolis, Ind., native’s home state only magnified the raw feelings.

Nusterer had an unlikely path to the Rainbow Warriors’ roster. The son of a member of the Austrian national basketball team, Nusterer shunned hoops as a child after some harsh dad-run clinics and eventually made his way to volleyball as a late bloomer in his sophomore year of high school.

“When I picked volleyball, I sucked. I was horrible. I was the worst,” Nusterer said.

But by his senior year, he had improved, and he tried to sell programs like UH on his potential by emailing them.

To his surprise, a month later, former assistant Josh Walker emailed back, setting him on the path to become a member of the ‘Bows’ “B” side during practices. (During matches, they are the ones cheering from the tunnel corner and leading the crowd in the “Viking” chant and clap on match point.)

He redshirted the 2022 season, then gradually made inroads during practice in the fall.

He appeared sparingly in two home matches against Saint Francis in January, then picked up a Big West Freshman of the Week honor following UH’s road matches at Belmont Abbey and Barton, where he put down a combined 11 kills.

But that was different, as besides the level of competition and setting, he didn’t play with the All-America setter Jakob Thelle, who missed that trip while dealing with knee issues. In the months since, he’d also rarely, if ever, played on Thelle’s team during the A-side, B-side clashes in practice.

That added a degree of difficulty for Nusterer when he shared the floor with Thelle on Thursday and had to stay attuned to his rhythms.

“Kurt did really good. We are really proud of him. … He had to step up,” said opposite Dimitrios Mouchlias, who led the team with 14 kills.

Nusterer was a media hit in first appearing with the Spectrum Sports corner crew on TV, then heading to the green room for print and online media questions.

Here are some word-for-word Nusterer responses to questions from that session:

Q: Did facing a team from Indiana provide you with extra motivation?

A: A little bit. It entered my mind a bit. I mean, I don’t really have much affection to that area of Indiana, because I’m actually pretty far south, and Fort Wayne’s pretty far north. It wasn’t a school on my radar because it didn’t fit the criteria I was looking for. So I didn’t have any bad blood or anything.

But actually the middle, 22 (Bryce Walker), I had just started club volleyball sophomore year and went to nationals. I watched his team play; he’s from Chicago area. I just remember looking up to him thinking, ‘oh my gosh, this guy’s amazing.’ And (it’s) full circle: he has no idea who I am, or that I was there watching him. I’m just grateful for the opportunity to put in the work that I have so that I can share the court with him.

Q: How did you end up at UH?

A: It’s funny, I emailed them. When I started sophomore year, I was horrible. Junior year, I started getting a little bit good, and they definitely recruit a lot off potential. You’ve got your big schools like UCLA, USC that always get these Fab 50 guys. Everyone wants to go there. Everyone who’s already good wants to go to those schools. So for me, being a late bloomer in volleyball, I had to sell the idea of potential. (My) 6-9 frame, stuff like that, I was super raw.

I emailed them, and a month later, out of nowhere, Josh Walker emailed me back. I’m really, really grateful to the coaching staff for giving me an opportunity to be here, for trusting me. I’m a product of the environment that I’m in when it comes to volleyball. All credit goes to the people around me, they’ve made it possible for me to be here.

Q: How much are passion and energy a part of your volleyball identity?

A: I’d say it’s a big part. I was always told if you’re going to do something, do it 100%. Go all in. And when I picked volleyball, I sucked. I was horrible. I was the worst. Me and a couple guys, when I came in freshman year, I knew I was going to redshirt. And a lot of guys could put their tail between their legs and say, ‘oh, poor me, I’ll just go somewhere else or I’ll just not try.’

But me, Keoni (Thiim), a couple other young guys, Cole Ottmar, kind of embraced that underdog status coming from a junior college. Cole Ottmar being unrecruited almost entirely. And he’s now a phenomenal player. The only player you guys haven’t seen him (chuckles) is because Spyros Chakas is hitting .600 every game. So, I’m just so blessed to have gone through the process of coming in at the bottom and trying to work my way up. When you put in that kind of work over so much time and have that dedication, it’s really hard not to get caught up in the emotions when it’s paying dividends.

Q: Will your emotions be multiplied these next nights?

A: Well, hopefully Cole is back, so I won’t have to know firsthand. But it definitely will. I think they’re almost sold out on Saturday already. I think it’s going to be a full house. People here are so awesome. They really contribute big time to a lot of the success we have at home.

Q: How much did your game at Barton help?

A: It helped for sure, but I wasn’t playing with Jakob, though. He and I don’t have the best connection; this is the first time I’ve played with him in, like, months. I can’t remember the last time … when Cole texted me this morning, ‘I’m sick,’ I’m like, ‘ah dang, what am I gonna do?’

But it definitely helps having played at Barton, get that feeling of pressure because the team is counting on you. IPFW ain’t Barton, so it’s a little bit different, but the feeling of the team demanding success from you and you having to meet the standards, I think that feeling of having to kind of, what’s it called, just accept that you have a role to play, I think doing that at Barton first really made it easier tonight for me.

Q: Could you feel the support of your “B-side” teammates in there?

A: Totally, totally. It’s all those guys, man. They are itching to play, itching to play. A win for one of us is a win for all of us. We love the A side. We love them so much. But after seeing them win and ball out every day, we all have a huge chip on our shoulders. So, seeing one of your friends succeed, it’s amazing. I see Keoni, Kana‘i (Akana) go in, play well; it feels like I’m playing well because those are your brothers in battle. And with the A side it’s the same. I’m not trying to make it sound like, ‘oh dang, Cole got a kill. Darn it.’ No. You love your teammates’ success (as) your success. But when you play every day with the B side, I feel like you’re going through the same stuff.

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