Hawaii faces Long Beach State today in NCAA semifinal clash
LOS ANGELES — Friday’s mid-day practice was the first time inside Pauley Pavilion for nearly the entire Hawaii men’s volleyball team. The site of today’s NCAA Tournament semifinals had the Rainbow Warriors program bouncing balls off the Teraflex floor for the first time since UH swept Long Beach State to win the second of back-to-back national championships in 2022. Four years later, Hawaii returns with a roster of no holdovers from that team.
After missing the tournament outright two seasons ago, UH made it to this point last year before it was swept by UCLA in Columbus, Ohio. Five of the seven starters from last year’s loss will be back on the floor tonight, along with Kristian Titriyski, who missed last season’s tournament with an injury. The circumstances surrounding the ’Bows this season entering the men’s volleyball version of the Final Four are much, much different.
“Last year, we were so young with so many new guys on the roster that I really felt getting into the Final Four and getting into the NCAA Championship was really important,” Hawaii coach Charlie Wade said during Friday’s press conference. “Here we are again with a lot of the same guys and there’s no question that the familiarity with it and just kind of understanding what it takes to navigate this week, there’s a benefit from being here before, for sure. ” Just getting here isn’t the goal for any player on this team.
Hawaii (28-5), the No. 2 seed, has a real opportunity to win a third national championship this decade. The ’Bows are 4-1 against two of the three teams still playing.
UH has won both matches against UC Irvine (20-8), which plays No. 4 seed Ball State (26-4) in the first semifinal at 12:30 p. m.
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