The University of Hawaiʻi men’s volleyball team advanced to the OUTRIGGER Big West Championship final after defeating UC San Diego in four sets on April 24 at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, California. The set scores were 25-19, 19-25, 25-20, and 25-13.
This victory sends the Rainbow Warriors into the title match for the sixth time as they aim for their fifth overall conference crown. They will face Long Beach State in the championship match scheduled for Saturday at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time at the same venue.
Hawaiʻi avenged its only conference loss of the regular season, which was previously handed to them by UC San Diego. The win also served as postseason redemption after losing to UC San Diego during their only previous Big West Championship meeting in Honolulu in 2021. With this result, Hawaiʻi’s all-time record in semifinal rounds improves to six wins and two losses.
Louis Sakanoko led Hawaiʻi with a team-high twelve kills and played a key role during an eleven-point run off his serve in the fourth set that helped secure victory. Adrien Roure contributed ten kills along with three digs and five blocks, while Trevell Jordan added eight kills and four blocks. Ofeck Hazan came off the bench due to an injury to Justin Todd and finished with four kills and four blocks. Kristian Titriyski returned from injury for his first start since missing two matches, finishing with six kills, two aces, and two blocks.
During regular season play against upcoming opponent Long Beach State, Hawaiʻi won both meetings between the teams. The Rainbow Warriors also went undefeated against UC Irvine this year.
