COLUMBUS, Ohio >> Hawaii converted a two-week wait for redemption into an opportunity nearly two years in the making.

In their first match since a stinging loss in the Big West tournament, the Rainbow Warriors overpowered conference rival UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament on Thursday, boosted by the voices of family and fans who made their way to the Covelli Center on the Ohio State campus.

After dispatching the Gauchos for the fourth time this season and the 10th straight time in the series, the top-seeded Warriors will make their second straight appearance in the national final two years after falling to Long Beach State for the 2019 title.

The Warriors appeared poised for another run before the 2020 season was halted days prior to the Big West opener. The extension of eligibility for seniors Rado Parapunov, Patrick Gasman and Colton Cowell elevated expectations for 2021 and the Warriors earned the title shot they’ve targeted with Thursday’s 25-21, 25-18, 25-23 victory over UCSB.

“It felt really real when that first ball came over the net in the first set,” Gasman said. “I felt like flying over here just felt like any other road trip. But when that first ball came over in that arena it became real, like, ‘This is the semifinals, we have to win this game.’ To do that, we all needed to play our best. Santa Barbara played really good, but we played a little better.”

No. 1 seed Hawaii will close the season with a showdown with second-seeded BYU (20-3) in the title match.

The rematch of last season’s finale is set for 2 p.m. Saturday and will be shown on ESPNU.

The Warriors and Cougars ended the 2020 season by splitting a series at the Stan Sheriff Center. BYU swept UH in the opener and the Warriors rallied from two sets down to win in five in the final match before the rest of the season was canceled. The teams have occupied the top two spots in the national polls all of this season.

Parapunov led UH with 12 kills to extend his streak of double-digit performances to 23 dating back to last season. Gasman put away 10 while hitting .625 and Cowell also finished with 10 for the Warriors (16-1).

“It’s amazing,” Parapunov said. “I think tonight we played our best game knowing what’s on the line, and when Patrick plays like that I don’t think anyone can stop us. It was very emotional, we were very excited and we knew if we don’t play good Santa Barbara can beat us. We gave them the most respect and we put our foot on the gas all the way to the end.

“Me, Pat, Colton and Gage (Worsley), we know the feeling of playing for a national championship and unfortunately we know how it is to lose. Fortunately we get another chance to finish our careers here strong on Saturday.”

Although the Warriors hit well below their season average of .365 — finishing the night at .263 — their ability to wall off the net highlighted a defensive performance that held UCSB to a .170 hitting percentage.

Gasman put away 10 of 16 kill attempts without a hitting error in the middle of the UH attack and was in on six of UH’s 13.5 blocks. Parapunov hit .143 for the match, but contributed a team-high 11 digs and five blocks. Middle blocker Guilherme Voss had five blocks and Worsley finished with nine digs.

“I just made sure I wasn’t respecting the middle as much as I usually do. I was just straight watching (UCSB setter Casey McGarry’s) hands and following the ball,” Gasman said. “He’s a really good setter, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to really read him. So I was just chasing the ball wherever it went and trying to catch the ball where the hitter was making contact and got lucky and got a block a couple of times.”

UC Santa Barbara coach Rick McLaughlin highlighted the importance of getting UH out of system from the service line in his prematch comments on Wednesday. But Worsley handled 23 UCSB serves, Cowell popped up 16 and Chaz Galloway had 14, all without an error.

“The game at one point gets relatively simple, the serve and pass,” UH coach Charlie Wade said. “When we had good service turns and received better we were able to make a run at them. I thought in particular our block was good early and often and really influenced the match.”

UH setter Jakob Thelle fired three of UH’s six aces while distributing 32 assists. He fed Parapunov early and the AVCA National Player of the Year took 10 of UH’s first 17 kill attempts, putting away four in that span.

UH’s block took over and the Warriors finished off the first set with Parapunov and Voss teaming to stuff UCSB’s Roy McFarland.

The Gauchos hit .000 in the second set with eight kills and eight errors as UH ran away early and the Warriors held off UCSB’s push to extend the match in the third set, with Parapunov putting away his 12th kill on match point.

Randy DeWeese led UCSB (16-5) with 13 kills and the Gauchos hit .170 as a team. Punahou graduate Ryan Wilcox closed his sophomore season with four kills and a match-high 13 digs.

UH drew a final round of cheers from the fans in attendance, some waving Hawaiian flags, when Parapunov and Worsley placed a “Hawaii” decal onto the bracket behind the court after the win.

“Chicken skin moment to have real faces, real voices,” Wade said. “They’re people that we know and love and have been such a part of our success for so long. To have some of them there with us was awesome.”