Charlie Wade was asked after Hawaii’s season-ending loss to UC Irvine what he would remember about this team looking back in a few years.
He paused, took a moment to think, and then, as he always does, started looking ahead.
“I guess I’ll see how good we are in a couple of years,” Wade said.
The longtime Hawaii men’s volleyball coach learned long ago that postgame meetings don’t need to take long. It’s not the time to reflect or debrief in the immediate minutes after a match. That can all come after a night’s sleep and a look at the video the next day.
There was a brief moment taken to grieve the loss of Spyros Chakas, whose injury in the final minutes of a five-set win over the Anteaters in the Outrigger Invitational in early March changed Hawaii’s season.
In the first media session held two days later, Wade took a moment to appreciate everything Chakas had done during his memorable UH career, but in his head, he had already begun the process of moving ahead.
Where could they generate the 4.71 kills per set Chakas was responsible for in other ways on the court? Who could possibly step up and at least somewhat fill the leadership void and the voice that Chakas held as floor captain?
Every season comes with its different set of challenges. Losing your best player isn’t something you ever think about. The nights have been long, especially after each of the five losses Hawaii had during Big West play that were its most ever.
But as Wade put it, this is what he signed up for.
“Whether it’s been my wife or some other people like to say, ‘You look like you’re always pissed off,’” Wade said. “And I’m like, ‘Well, I love my job, but it’s not like, haha, funny, this is great.’ It’s always a grind and there is a lot going on.
“This year certainly created some unique challenges. I’ve been here the head coach 15 years and never had an ACL, and to have it happen to our player of the year candidate, there were some unique things about it, but at the end, it’s just part of the journey. You do this long enough you’ll experience a little bit of everything.”
This season was always going to be one of change. The bar had been set extremely high and Hawaii had a lot of talent to replace.
Gone was a four-year starting setter and reigning AVCA Player of the Year in Jakob Thelle.
No longer around was reigning All-America opposite hitter Dimitrios Mouchlias, who led the Big West in points and kills per set.
Throw in middle blocker Cole Hogland and libero Brett Sheward, and more than half of the starting lineup from a team that had advanced to four straight national finals needed to be replaced.
These ’Bows were going to be different. Wade figured there would be some early bumps in the road, but outside of a five-set loss to Loyola-Chicago on opening weekend, there really weren’t any.
By the time the regular season was over, Hawaii was 17-1 and had just earned a No. 1 ranking in the AVCA Top 25 for the sixth season in a row, something no other school had ever achieved.
Unfortunately, that feat never really got to be celebrated. Chakas, who could have left and started his professional career overseas, decided to come back for his senior season to make one last run on what could have been UH’s third national title in four years.
Hawaii was in position to do exactly that after crushing then-No. 1 Grand Canyon in three sets, and making it look rather easy.
What could have been will always be the question asked about 2024. What the Chakas injury did give is the chance for players to compete at the highest level in roles they might not have had.
Junior Keoni Thiim started 14 matches and played the most volleyball he has in any season.
Freshman Louis Sakanoko flashed incredible talent at times and showed if he can develop some consistency to his game, he will be a real impact player for this program.
Senior Alaka‘i Todd went out with the individual season he had always dreamed about, starting 29 matches for a squad ranked No. 1 at one point.
Even ‘Eleu Choy had fans jumping out of their seats numerous times this season in his first full year as the starting libero.
“Just really proud of the growth and development from so many guys throughout the roster,” Wade said. “Even guys that you guys never see, like a Justin Todd, who has gotten a lot more reps on the B side and seeing the development of those guys. I think you’re going to see down the road that this year was really significant in their development.”
No player was thrown into the fire any more than 17-year-old Tread Rosenthal, who was one of two players to start every match for the ‘Bows this season.
The 6-foot-9 Rosenthal was named the Big West Freshman of the Year on Tuesday, becoming the first Rainbow Warrior to earn the award.
The only other players in UH history to win a conference freshman of the year award were Yuval Katz, Kimo Tuyay and Jonas Umlauft, who did it in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. It had been 14 years since Umlauft was the last to accomplish the feat in 2010.
“It’s a big honor to kind of show that it’s a lot of work and our team has put me in a position to be the best freshman in the Big West,” Rosenthal said. “It was a disappointing end to our season this year, for me especially. You always want to be in the last game of the season and it’s rough not being there.”
Rosenthal will be in a tough position again next season, as he will again try to establish a connection with a new crop of players in a short amount of time.
Hawaii has officially announced the signings of five players, with more potentially on the way with the opening of the transfer portal this weekend.
Wade said it could be up to 10 new players joining the roster next season, and it’s already a loaded group.
Finn Kearney, a pin hitter from Phoenix, was listed on Tuesday as the No. 3 recruit in the country by Volleyball Magazine, which also ranked UH signee Victor Lowe, a 6-foot-5 setter from Santa Monica, Calif., in its Fab 50.
UH has also gone international to sign 6-foot-6 middle blocker Ofeck Hazan from Israel, 6-foot-8 opposite Kristian Titriyski from Bulgaria and 6-foot-5 outside hitter Adrien Roure from France — all could have immediate impact.
Wade’s son, Kainoa, a 6-foot-8 junior at Kamehameha and the reigning Star-Advertiser All-State Player of the Year, is expected to reclassify and join the team next season like Rosenthal did this season.
The names will continue to change, as they always do, especially in this era of the transfer portal, but for a program that has held the No. 1 ranking every season since 2018, there’s no reason to think it couldn’t happen again next year.
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