The University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team has announced its 2018 season schedule. The 2018 season will mark Hawaii’s first season as part of the newly-formed Big West men’s volleyball conference, after previously having competed in the MPSF.
In the new conference, the team’s scheduling methodology hasn’t changed much – the Big West will continue the two-games-in-one-weekend scheduling that helps save programs on the expensive trip from Hawaii to the mainland. The Rainbow Warriors will kick off their first season in the Big West with a pair, at home, against UC Irvine on February 23rd and 25th.
Hawaii will host three tournaments this season. The Texaco Rainbow Warrior Classic will open the year, and after a trip to Nashville for the Grow the Game Challenge, Hawaii will be back home for the Waikiki Beachcomber by Outrigger Classic.
Then, after the two matches against UC Irvine and a pair against Concordia, Hawaii will host the Outrigger Hotels & Resotrs Invitational, where they’ll welcome in national powers Lewis, Penn State, and BYU.
In spite of leaving the conference, Hawaii will still face 4 of the 5 returning members of the MPSF: USC, UCLA (x2), Pepperdine, and BYU. The lone exception will be Stanford, who Hawaii isn’t scheduled to play in regular-season action.
The 6-team Big West will award 1 automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA tournament via the champion of the Big West tournament. That tournament will be hosted by last year’s MPSF champions Long Beach State, who have also made the jump to the Big West.
Hawaii will again be fighting for either that automatic bid, or one of the two at-large spots available for this year’s national championship tournament –which will have a different format with the addition of a 5th auto bid.
Hawaii graduated only 4 players, but they were a significant 4. 3 of those players (outside Kupono Fey, setter Jennings Franciskovic, and middle blocker Hendrik Mol) were regular starters. Redshirt senior Iain McKellar appeared in 9 matches and started 1. Mol and Franciscovic were both 2017 AVCA All-Americans.
The team returns leading scorer Stijn van Tilburg, however, who averaged 4.25 kills/set while hitting .370 last season.
Hawaii will look to qualify for the NCAA tournament for the 3rd time in 4 years. Last year, they advanced to the semi-finals of the NCAA tournament, where they were swept 3-0 by eventual national champions Ohio State.
Full Hawaii men’s volleyball 2018 schedule is below:
| TEXACO RAINBOW WARRIOR CLASSIC |
| JAN 4 (THU) 4:00 P.M. HT |
| VS USC VS. JUNIATA |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| JAN 4 (THU) 7:00 P.M. HT |
| VS STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| JAN 5 (FRI) 4:00 P.M. HT |
| VS USC VS. STEVENS INSTITUTE |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| JAN 5 (FRI) 7:00 P.M. HT |
| VS JUNIATA COLLEGE |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| JAN 6 (SAT) 4:00 P.M. HT |
| VS STEVENS INSTITUTE VS. JUNIATA |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| JAN 6 (SAT) 7:00 P.M. HT |
| VS USC |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| GROW THE GAME CHALLENGE |
| JAN 12 (FRI) 3:00 P.M. HT |
| VS LINCOLN MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY |
| NASHVILLE, TEN. |
| JAN 13 (SAT) 1:30 P.M. HT |
| VS BARTON COLLEGE |
| NASHVILLE, TEN. |
| JAN 14 (SUN) 11:00 A.M. HT |
| VS GRAND CANYON |
| NASHVILLE, TEN. |
| JAN 26 (FRI) 7:00 P.M. HT |
| VS UCLA |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| JAN 28 (SUN) 5:00 P.M. HT |
| VS UCLA |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| WAIKIKI BEACHCOMBER BY OUTRIGGER CLASSIC |
| FEB 1 (THU) 4:00 P.M. HT |
| VS SACRED HEART VS. THOMPSON RIVERS |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| FEB 1 (THU) 7:00 P.M. HT |
| VS LEES-MCRAE |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| FEB 2 (FRI) 4:00 P.M. HT |
| VS LEES-MCRAE VS. THOMPSON RIVERS |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| FEB 2 (FRI) 7:00 P.M. HT |
| VS SACRED HEART |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| FEB 3 (SAT) 4:00 P.M. HT |
| VS LEES-MCRAE VS. SACRED HEART |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| FEB 3 (SAT) 7:00 P.M. HT |
| VS THOMPSON RIVERS |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| FEB 18 (SUN) TBA |
| VS ALUMNI |
| HONOLULU, O‘AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| FEB 23 (FRI) 7:00 P.M. HT |
| BWCVS UC IRVINE |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| FEB 25 (SUN) 5:00 P.M. HT |
| BWCVS UC IRVINE |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| MAR 2 (FRI) 7:00 P.M HT |
| VS CONCORDIA (CALIF.) |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| MAR 4 (SUN) 5:00 P.M. HT |
| VS CONCORDIA (CALIF.) |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| OUTRIGGER HOTELS & RESORTS INVITATIONAL |
| MAR 8 (THU) 4:00 P.M. HT |
| VS BYU VS. PENN STATE |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| MAR 8 (THU) 7:00 P.M. HT |
| VS LEWIS |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| MAR 9 (FRI) 4:00 P.M. HT |
| VS BYU VS. LEWIS |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| MAR 9 (FRI) 7:00 P.M. HT |
| VS PENN STATE |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| MAR 10 (SAT) 4:00 P.M. HT |
| VS PENN STATE VS. LEWIS |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| MAR 10 (SAT) 7:00 P.M. HT |
| VS BRIGHAM YOUNG |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| MAR 15 (THU) 4:00 P.M. HT |
| BWCAT CSUN |
| NORTHRIDGE, CALIF. |
| MAR 16 (FRI) 4:00 P.M. HT |
| BWCAT CSUN |
| NORTHRIDGE, CALIF. |
| MAR 18 (SUN) 2:00 P.M. HT |
| AT PEPPERDINE |
| MALIBU, CALIF. |
| MAR 30 (FRI) 7:00 P.M. HT |
| BWCVS UC SAN DIEGO |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| MAR 31 (SAT) 7:00 P.M. HT |
| BWCVS UC SAN DIEGO |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| APR 6 (FRI) TBA |
| BWCAT UC SANTA BARBARA |
| SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. |
| APR 7 (SAT) TBA |
| BWCAT UC SANTA BARBARA |
| SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. |
| APR 13 (FRI) 7:00 P.M. HT |
| BWCVS LONG BEACH STATE |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| APR 14 (SAT) 7:00 P.M. HT |
| BWCVS LONG BEACH STATE |
| HONOLULU, O’AHU STAN SHERIFF CENTER |
| BIG WEST TOURNAMENT |
| APR 19 (THU) APR 21 (SAT) |
| VS BIG WEST TOURNAMENT |
| LONG BEACH, CALIF. |
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