RAINBOW WARRIORS VOLLEYBALL

At LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid, Long Beach, Calif.

No. 3 Hawaii (17-3, 0-0 Big West) vs. No. 2 Long Beach State (14-2, 0-0)

Today and Saturday, 4 p.m.

Stream: ESPN+

Radio: KHKA 1500 AM / 92.7 FM

Don’t miss out on what’s happening!

—————

Make no mistake, there is nothing Adrien Roure enjoys more than playing inside a full Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

However, the Hawaii sophomore opposite hitter has always enjoyed playing in front of a hostile opposing crowd ever since he was a kid.

That’s what he is looking forward to the most this weekend when the third-ranked Rainbow Warriors (17-3) begin conference play on the road at No. 2 Long Beach State (14-2, 0-0) today and Saturday at 4 p.m.

These will be Roure’s first two matches inside of LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif.

Long Beach State has swept the past four regular-season series played in the Pyramid, in 2017, ’19, ’22 and ’24.

Roure was aware of UH’s struggles on the road against the Beach in recent history and was excited at the prospect of trying to win in one of Hawaii’s notoriously toughest places to play.

“Louis (Sakanoko) has taught me a lot about (the Pyramid),” Roure said Tuesday before the team left Wednesday. “He said it’s really fun there but it’s going to be crazy, but that’s what I like about volleyball — playing in front of lots of people and when it’s away, it’s always fun. I always like playing to silence the crowd and I’m sure it’s the same with other (teams) when they come to Hawaii.”

Hawaii closed nonconference play going 2-1 in the Outrigger Invitational but did not play its best in a three-set loss to No. 1 UCLA on Saturday night.

Roure, who led the team with 15 kills in Sunday’s win over Lewis, had 11 against the Bruins and was the only starting pin hitter to find any success in the marquee matchup of the Outrigger.

Sakanoko, who had not hit below .200 in any match this season, had only two kills and three errors and hit minus-.077.

Kainoa Wade, who hadn’t hit less than .300 in any start this season, also hit negative with four kills and five errors.

Sophomore Finn Kearney closed out the UCLA match for Sakanoko on the left side and Kristian Titriyski, who hadn’t played in nearly two months, replaced Wade against both UCLA and Lewis and was named the Big West Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.

Coach Charlie Wade has decisions to make 20 matches into the season as his team tries to secure its first win over a Top 5 ranked opponent of the season.

“It becomes more art than science, right?,” Charlie Wade said of setting his starting lineup. “You can look at the stats and see what it is, but it’s nice to have options. We don’t have to keep running the same guys out there, because the season is long and there is a level of attrition, whether guys get hurt, and then physically, there are peaks and valleys.”

Hawaii and LBSU are the last two teams to start their conference schedule in the Big West.

Four teams are ranked in the Top 8 in the country with No. 5 UC Irvine and No. 8 UC Santa Barbara, which split its conference series last week.

UC San Diego, which is ranked No. 13, is 2-1 in conference play.

The Beach and the Rainbow Warriors, who have combined to win six of seven Big West titles and five of the past seven national championships, remain the top two favorites going in.

The gap between them and the rest of the conference continues to get smaller.

“It is possible,” Charlie Wade said when asked if the league is even better this year. “Certainly there are more resources in the market. Whether it was NIL or cost of attendance or increased scholarships, I think everyone has gotten a little something more, so I think it’s reasonable to say that the league is better right now.”

Hawaii will play three of its five conference series on the road and host only the Gauchos next week and Cal State Northridge the final weekend of the regular season.

Roure believes a win over Long Beach State would go a long way to make up for a disappointing performance against UCLA.

“It was a tough loss, but now we’ve got to move on really fast,” Roure said. “It’s a challenge, but it’s going to show our team character if we’re going to bounce back and I think we need it. I think we will be fired up.”