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COLUMBUS, Ohio — A poised and balanced effort carried No. 2 Hawai‘i to a 3-1 win over Penn State in the 2025 National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon at the Covelli Center. Set scores were 25-19, 21-25, 25-23, 25-23, as the Rainbow Warriors overcame a slow start but delivered in the clutch to book their place in the national semifinals. 

With the win, UH moves to 27-5 on the season and sets up a semifinal showdown against third-seeded UCLA on Saturday at 5 p.m. PT/2 p.m. HT. The last time the ’Bows met up with Bruins was back in 2023, a 3-1 win in the regular season followed by a 3-1 loss in the National Collegiate Championship final in Fairfax, Va.   

Freshman Finn Kearney was the standout for Hawai‘i, finishing with a team-high 16 kills, four service aces, 10 digs, and three blocks, delivering both offensive firepower and defensive consistency in a national postseason debut. The native of Phoenix, Ariz., was particularly sharp from the service line, sparking scoring runs in key moments. Middle blocker Kurt Nusterer added nine kills while hitting .571 and chipped in three blocks, providing a steady presence at the net. Also contributing nine kills with five digs and three aces was sophomore Louis Sakanoko.  

Redshirt freshman Justin Todd was nearly automatic, putting away eight kills on just 10 swings (.800) and adding four blocks, including two in the fourth set that halted Penn State’s late comeback efforts. Setter Tread Rosenthal directed the offense with 38 assists, while also tallying 5 kills on .714 hitting with a pair of blocks and digs in a controlled all-around performance. Libero ‘Eleu Choy anchored the back row with nine digs for the defense. 

The Rainbow Warriors saw a slow start with a 6-0 deficit to set The Big West champions on their heels out of the gate. But a mid-frame 6-1 run—sparked by Kearney’s tough serving and a trio of aces gave UH a 12-11 advantage in the frame. The set stayed tied with Penn State knotting the score at 17 off a kill for Matthew Luoma, but UH scored the next three in succession before closing the frame with the 25-19 win. 

Penn State responded in the second, using a strong back half to even the team score. UH found themselves ahead at 14-12 before the Nittany Lions got on a roll with Michael Schwob at the serve with four consecutive points. PSU was able to maintain the moment throughout the second set coming away with the 25-21 win.  

Set three was a tight back-and-forth battle, featuring eight ties and four lead changes. Tied as late as 22-all, Hawai‘i got a timely service ace from Rosenthal to bring up set point and on their second try, a ball to the middle of the court for Nusterer gave the ’Bows the 25-23 victory.  

In the fourth set, momentum continued to swing both ways with Penn State able to get the early lead, mirroring the second frame. UH was able to rally to knot the score at 10 apiece with an ace from Todd and were again clutch from the service line to edge out to an 18-17 lead after back-to-back Sakanoko aces.

Penn State clawed back to lead at 22-21 before Nusterer was able to tie the set and go back for the serve. Sakanoko and Todd combined for the block to set up match point at 24-22, but PSU staved off elimination after a kill from Will Kuhns. After a timeout for Hawai’i, Rosenthal set up Todd for the slam to send UH into the semifinals.  

Penn State’s Luoma led the match with 17 total kills as the Nittany Lions closed the year at 15-16.