Hawaii holds off USC before a record crowd of 9,943 to reach the Final Four

A season-high, sold-out Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 9,943 broke the NCAA Tournament record for the largest single-match attendance. The thunderous roars never stopped from player introductions until USC (20-8) was called for a net violation to bring a stunning end to a match that lasted two hours, 40 minutes despite not going to a fifth set. “All four sets were close obviously, and it’s two closely matched teams and both teams thought they have a chance to win a national championship this year and we’re fortunate enough to advance,” Hawaii coach Charlie Wade said.

“These guys have played a lot of high-level volleyball. There’s nothing out there that we haven’t seen before. ” Hawaii sophomore opposite Kristian Titriyski put down a match-high 19 kills and Adrien Roure added 13 kills, six digs and a career-high seven aces.

Louis Sakanoko added 12 kills, five blocks and four digs as all three UH pin hitters had their moments, which the ’Bows (28-5) needed. Hawaii took a 2-1 lead in the third set when Tread Rosenthal served a ball out of a USC timeout and a Trojans player’s return hit the scoreboard on the second touch. The set was tied 19 times before Hawaii scored the final two points to earned a much-needed set win after USC won the second.

“Tread had an uncharacteristically poor night serving and a lot of times that’s why we start him serving to get the most opportunities,” Wade said. “He’s got the clutch gene and when the game is on the line, he is going to give you a good effort. ” Rosenthal finished with a match-high 56 assists, six digs, three blocks and three kills.