UH faces Penn State in NCAA men’s volleyball tournament

COLUMBUS, Ohio (HawaiiNewsNow) – The University of Hawaii at Manoa men’s volleyball team is gearing up for the NCAA tournament.

The Rainbow Warriors have been training in Columbus, Ohio, ahead of their quarterfinal matchup against Penn State Thursday.

This will be the fifth appearance in the last six seasons for UH in the tournament, but for many of the players on this year’s squad, this is the first time that they’re appearing in postseason play.

“I’m super excited. I’ve been looking forward to this my whole career, so it’s just looking forward to the first game and just kind of settling the nerves and then having fun after,” said setter Tread Rosenthal.

Wednesday marked the first official practice inside the Covelli Center and a chance for the players to get acclimated to the host venue.

“Every gym is different. There’s lights on different spots, the service line on certain distance back,” Rosenthal said. ”I mean you just kind of got to get used to playing in there. It’s just kind of all about that there’s nothing much different.”

The trip to Ohio is a familiar one for senior libero Eleu Choy, the lone member on the squad who was on the 2021 team that won their first national title in Columbus.

Choy recognizes that his time as a Rainbow Warrior will soon come to an end. He’s trying to enjoy each moment.

“Knowing that Thursday might be the last, maybe might hopefully not, but maybe the last game, at this point like every game you just got to play like it’s your last game,” he said. “I think that’s why I just wanna leave behind, and we just got to stay focused because I think when we’re at our best game, no one can beat us.”

The quarterfinal matchup between Hawaii and Penn State is Thursday at 7:30 a.m. Hawaii time.

Games will be streamed on live on ESPN+, except for the national championship, which will air on ESPN2.

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