UH men’s volleyball holds first practice ahead of NCAA semifinals

Sports admin May 14, 2026 0 Comments

UH men’s volleyball holds first practice ahead of NCAA semifinals

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team touched down in Southern California.

Hawaii is preparing to take on Long Beach State in the national semi-finals on Saturday.

On Thursday, the team practiced at a high school familiar to setter Trent Rosenthal.

“We’re at Mira Cosa High School, this was my alma mater, me and Thatcher’s alma mater and we’re just back in the gym getting some reps in,” Rosenthal said. “On the first day we get in, we normally, it’s just slow, kind of get ome reps, get the moving a little bit and that’s what it was today, so it was, it was nice to kind of get in, get grooving. ”

“My dad’s the athletic director here, my family’s been in here for a while, over the last few years,” Rosenthal added. “I think we’ve used this gym the most out of any family in Manhattan Beach.”

One key player that did not compete in the Big West Conference Final, where Hawaii lost to Long Beach State in 5 sets just a few weeks ago, is sophomore middle blocker Justin Todd, who suffered an injury the day before during the conference semifinals.

Todd returned to the starting lineup last week in a match against USC and could play a key role in Saturday’s semifinal against Long Beach State.

“I was working with Reiki for like a week straight every day going in and working to get back against USC and be there for the team and it felt really good to get back and contribute,” Todd said. “Super excited, I mean, I think this is the best position we’ve ever been in, since I’ve been playing here to go and win it, so I’m really excited and excited to go compete.”

The ‘Bows will be taking on the Beach in the National semifinal on Saturday, 3:30 p.m. Hawaii time.

The winner advances to the national championship match.