Tigers Fall to #4 Hawaii, 3-1

Wednesday, January 15

Manoa, Hawaii

7:00 PM HST / 12:00 AM EST

Princeton University

0-2,0-0EIVA

Hawaii

5-0,0-0Big West

Princeton

Hawaii

January 16, 2025 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

HONOLULU, H.I. – the Princeton men's volleyball team fell to the no. 4 University of Hawaii, 3-1 (20-25, 18-25, 25-20, 17-25) on Wednesday night in Simplifi Arena.

Nyherowo Omene led Princeton with 14 kills on the night, also tallying three digs, three blocks and three service aces in an all-around performance.

First-year Mason Rice also had a standout performance, logging 12 kills, two assists and a squad-high four digs in just his second collegiate game.

Henry Wedbush also racked up 36 assists in the contest.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Entering the game, Princeton came out strong, taking an 8-4 lead in the first set before a 6-0 run by Hawaii cooled the Tigers off. The set saw 12 total ties as the Tigers and the Rainbow Warriors battled it out, but Princeton would end up dropping the set 20-25.

The second set was a similar story as the Tigers found themselves down but not out, as they clawed their way back from a six point deficit with a service ace by Henry Wedbush tying the set at 15. Princeton would continue to battle it out point by point with UH, but a late run that featured two service aces would put Hawaii up 25-18.

Set three again saw Hawaii make an early 5-0 run, but the Tigers again fought their way back into the match with Omene contributing two service aces and Rice contributing three kills. Then, a 5-2 Princeton run tied things up at 17, before the Tigers took the lead on three attack errors from Hawaii. Additional offensive contributions from Omene, Rice and Ryan Vena expanded the Tiger lead, before Wedbush made the final kill to hand Princeton the set, 25-20.

In set four, Princeton could not outpace Hawaii's offense as the Rainbow Warriors took a steady lead, so much as 20-10. Despite the Tigers' efforts, they could not find their way back into it, with the final set ending 25-17 to give Hawaii the victory.

On the night, Princeton out-blocked Hawaii 5-2 while also maintaining a hitting percentage of 0.358.

UP NEXT
Princeton will remain in Hawaii for another face-off with UH on Friday night in Simplifi Arena, with the first serve again set for 7 p.m. HST (12 a.m. EST).