The No. 2 is headed back to the national championship match after defeating Big West rival No. 3 Long Beach State men’s volleyball in four sets in the NCAA semifinals on May 9 at Pauley Pavilion at UCLA.
The Rainbow Warriors won 25-15, 18-25, 25-21, 25-22 in front of a national semifinal crowd in Los Angeles, advancing to the title match for the first time since 2022.
UH used a balanced offensive attack and a dominant performance at the net to control the match. Â鶹´«Ã½ hit .337 as a team and outblocked Long Beach State 14.5 to 6.0.
The night saw a career performance from middle blocker Justin Todd, double-figure kill performances from three pin hitters, and a gritty effort from setter Tread Rosenthal, who suffered an injury during the match.
The Rainbow Warriors came out aggressively in the opening set, using pressure serving and strong transition offense to build an early lead. Consecutive blocks and a service ace helped UH pull away for the convincing 25-15 win.
Long Beach State responded in the second set, evening the match before UH regained momentum. The Rainbow Warriors closed out the final two sets behind timely kills, disciplined defense and strong play at the net to secure the semifinal victory.
UH opposite Kristian Titriyski put away a match-high 14 kills and served up two aces. Outside hitter Louis Sakanoko added 12 kills on .360 hitting and Adrien Roure finished with 10 kills.
The win sends UH to the NCAA championship match against UC Irvine, which advanced earlier in the day with a four-set semifinal win over Ball State.
The national championship match will be played May 11 at Pauley Pavilion and televised on ESPN2.
Read more about the highlights from the match at .