The University of Â鶹´«Ã½ Rainbow Warrior captured the program¡¯s latest and third national championship on May 11, defeating UC Irvine in the title match of the NCAA Men’s National Collegiate Volleyball Championship.
The Rainbow Warriors battled to victory in four sets: 15-25, 25-18, 25-18 and 25-20.
Powered by an offense led by opposite Kristian Titriyski, the Rainbow Warriors secured the victory in front of a national audience, adding another historic chapter to one of the nation¡¯s best collegiate volleyball programs.
Titriyski led Â鶹´«Ã½ with 16 kills, followed by Adrien Roure and Louis Sakanoko with 15 and 12 kills respectively. Roure, Sakanoko and libero Quintin Greenidge anchored the defense with a combined 18 digs. The Rainbow Warriors hit 0.410 with 11 blocks.
Sakanoko was also named the NCAA tournament most outstanding player.
“It wasn¡¯t a perfect year, but it finished in a perfect way,” head coach Charlie Wade said in a post-game interview.
The win marks Â鶹´«Ã½¡¯s third NCAA championship in program history. The Rainbow Warriors end their season with a 30¨C5 record.
This marks the Rainbow Warrior¡¯s third national championship, after impressive back-to-back national championship victories in 2021 and 2022. This is also the Rainbow Warriors¡¯ eighth appearance in the NCAA finals.
UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ and UC Irvine have previously met seven times in postseason play but have not faced each other in the NCAA Tournament before. The ¡®Bows won both regular season matchups this season against Irvine.
The title caps off another standout season for the Rainbow Warriors, who once again established themselves among the elite programs in collegiate volleyball.
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