Rosenthal, Titriyski share special bond on, off the court

LOS ANGELES — After putting down the winning kill in Saturday’s NCAA semifinal victory over Long Beach State, Hawaii’s Kristian Titriyski immediately turned to his right to find his setter, Tread Rosenthal, who had nearly fallen onto a courtside table.

The two embraced for a moment before celebrating a spot in the national championship match against UC Irvine.

The final point to give the Hawaii men’s volleyball team its third national championship with a four-set win over the Anteaters on Monday was again on a Titriyski kill from a set from Rosenthal.

After a brief moment, the two found each other and embraced multiple times. Titriyski could be heard telling Rosenthal, “I love you.”

The relationship between setter and opposite hitter is one Rosenthal called “unique” after the match.

Titriyski, a 6-foot-8 sophomore from Sofia, Bulgaria, makes his emotions known on the floor all of the time, either good or bad.

They can also change on a whim. As emotional as any player on the court after Monday’s win, Titriyski left the court shortly after the team cut down the net, walking off to the locker room by himself, with his head down.

He looked the same taking the stage for the postmatch press conference, but he immediately perked up when asked about UH’s team captain, who also is one of his roommates.

“Tread is an amazing guy. Don’t let me start because I could go on forever,” Titriyski said. “I don’t think we could have a better guy on the team for a leader. Everyone listens to him and in these situations as a setter, you need your setter to be calm and no stress, and he’s exactly that guy.”

After missing nearly two months of the season with injury, and also playing behind Kainoa Wade, who at one point was named the AVCA National Player of the Week, Titriyski returned to start 12 of the team’s final 14 matches and help UH go 11-1 in those starts on the way to a 30-win season.

He ended the season leading the team in kills in the final four matches, including with 16 against the Anteaters while hitting .387.

The roller coaster of emotions that Titiryski goes through throughout a match was perfectly summed up during a service turn in the second set when he ripped the collar of his jersey.

His kill gave Hawaii a 7-5 lead and he then went back to serve five straight times.

His first four serves, with one lollipop serve, were all nearly perfect, resulting in an ace and three other Hawaii points, including two Rosenthal kills.

His fifth serve hit the top of the tape and fell on UH’s side for a service error. Not the best result, but the entire serving run was a huge boost for UH, which now led 11-6.

Titriyski, however, grabbed the inside of his jersey with each hand and pulled, ripping it down the middle like he was Hulk Hogan in the early 1990s.

At the end of a serving run that every player or coach would call highly successful, Titriyski was so upset at one mistake that he nearly had to come out of the game.

“He’s one of the most unique teammates I think I’ve ever had,” Rosenthal said. “And that’s going back to when I first met him. I think I’ve had the most arguments and the most one-on-one real time with him. We’ve got a deep connection and I guess it’s been building since last year.”

A career .314 hitter, Titriyski averages more than four kills per set in his UH career.

He has two years of eligibility remaining, but also has options to play professional volleyball back home.

His emotions suggested he was feeling a lot after Monday’s win, but as it usually is with Titriyski, you never quite know what he’s going to do next.

What is clear is his relationship with Rosenthal is a big reason he was able to finish the season as strong as he did.

“Even outside of the court. He’s been one of my, if not my closest friend, in Hawaii since I came to America,” Titriyski said. “We’ve gone through so much together outside the court and on the court too.”