IRVINE, Calif. » In an announcement that evoked tears and rousing applause on Saturday morning, the University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team received an at-large berth in this week’s NCAA tournament.
"It’s awesome," said middle blocker Taylor Averill, whose Rainbow Warriors (24-6) will meet Penn State (20-9) in a play-in match, scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday in Stanford, Calif. The winner will play top-seeded Lewis (25-3) in Thursday’s final four.
Loyola Chicago (25-2) plays Pfeifer (19-2) in the first play-in game. Second-seeded UC Irvine (28-4) awaits the winner.
This will be the Warriors’ first NCAA appearance since 2002, when they won — then relinquished — the national title.
The Warriors earned the berth two days after losing to Pepperdine in the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoffs.
But Pepperdine lost to UC Irvine in the MPSF title match on Friday. Irvine earned the MPSF’s automatic bid and the No. 2 seed. After that match, an MPSF official told UH coach Charlie Wade the Warriors had met most of the nine-point criteria to earn the at-large berth over Pepperdine.
But Wade said he had seen too many sure things not materialize.
"Even (Friday) night, when I was told we were in, I wasn’t quite there," Wade said. "You never know."
On Saturday morning, the Warriors gathered in a hotel conference room to watch the unveiling of the brackets on the NCAA’s website. A projector was connected to a laptop to show an enlarged video on the wall.
After the announcement, the Warriors broke into thunderous applause.
"This is an incredible thing for the state, the fans and the team," Averill said. "This is something we’ve worked so hard for. Losing to Pepperdine was such a bummer. This is incredible."
Opposite attacker Brook Sedore said: "It was heart-breaking when we lost (to Pepperdine). It would have been heart-breaking if (the season) ended now. It’s amazing. This whole system worked out for us. … Maybe we needed that loss to kick us in the butt and get us going for the tournament."
The players then chanted: "Sixty dollars! Sixty dollars!" That was a reference to the per diem each will receive for participating in the NCAA-hosted event.
"They figured that out," Wade said, smiling.
Soon after, Wade addressed the team in an emotional speech in which he paused several times to choke back tears.
Wade spoke of the pursuit of an NCAA berth that had taken, for many, several seasons.
"This achievement is because of these guys and the hard work the staff has put in and the evolution of the program," said Wade, in his sixth season as UH head coach. "For me, as the steward of the program, getting the program back to national prominence is significant. It’s something we’re really proud of."
Setter Alex Jones, who has sparked the Warriors as a reserve setter and serving specialist, then entered the room.
"Dude, I didn’t get the group text," Jones said to a chorus of laughter.
The celebration did not last long. There were bags to pack and reservations to make. Noting there were about five hours before the team’s flight to the Bay Area, Wade decided to scout a nearby volleyball tournament.
Recruiting does not rest.
