Host team denies University of Hawaii men’s volleyball in final again

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DARRELL MIHO / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER

A large contingent of Hawaii fans followed the Rainbow Warriors to Long Beach State for the NCAA final four at the Walter Pyramid.

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DARRELL MIHO / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER

Colton Cowell smacked a shot against Long Beach State’s Kyle Ensing during the NCAA Championship.

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May 2

NCAA tournament semifinal vs. Lewis

Hawaii wins 25-15, 25-17, 30-32, 25-16

Playing as the top seed for the first time in six NCAA appearances, the Warriors opened the national tournament with a four-set victory over the MIVA champion Flyers. Junior hitter Colton Cowell had a team-high 15 kills as Hawaii advanced to its third NCAA final — and first since 2002 — setting a program record for victories (28) in the process.

The Warriors outblocked the Flyers 14-4.5 and finished with a 10-1 edge in aces over the 2 hours and 13 minutes. Lewis was just the third team to take a set off Hawaii during the season — the others were Long Beach State (11) and UCSB (1).

The Flyers held off six match points, starting at 24-23. Lewis needed two set points to extend it, breaking the 13th tie (30-30) with a kill by Mitch Perinar and a block of senior hitter Stijn van Tilburg to send it to a fourth. It was the first time in nine meetings between the two programs that there was a Set 4; all other matches were sweeps, with the Warriors having a 7-1 lead in those.

All three of Hawaii’s NCAA semifinal wins have come in four sets (Penn State both in 1996 and 2002). As happened in 1996 at UCLA, the Warriors went on to play the host team for the championship and lost, this time with Long Beach State extending its home winning streak to 43 — 23-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-23.