The rasp in Charlie Wade’s voice spoke to the strain of a 125-minute battle for a conference championship.

Even so, the Hawaii men’s volleyball coach was determined to address a crowd still reveling in the Rainbow Warriors’ sweep of Long Beach State in the championship match of the Big West Championship in SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

“These championships are not only for you, they are because of you,” Wade shouted into the courtside microphone he had seized from the public address announcer. “You are the wind in our sails. You are the mana that inspires us to train every day.

“You are the best volleyball fans in the world,” he continued with WWE-level verve. “Thank you for being here. We’ll see you in LA.”

The Rainbow Warriors did indeed see many of their supporters two weeks later at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles for the National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship and rewarded the fans by completing their quest for a second consecutive NCAA title.

After playing in empty arenas for most of the 2021 season, the full return of fans amplified the Warriors’ satisfaction in finishing off their run to the repeat.

The artificial crowd noise and cardboard cutouts of last year were replaced by the roar of crowds that again energized the Sheriff Center. Although attendance had to build back toward pre-pandemic levels, by the final weeks of the season the atmosphere in the arena rivaled that of the 2020 five-set thriller against Brigham Young in the last sold-out event on the Manoa campus.

“Just seeing people in the stands,” UH setter Jakob Thelle said in recalling his favorite memory of his second championship season. “The first game against Loyola (Chicago), seeing people’s faces and seeing people in the arena again, because that’s something we didn’t have last season.”

The Rainbow Wahine volleyball program had been the first to welcome fans back into the arena, albeit on a limited basis, back in the fall, and crowds began to build over the men’s and women’s basketball seasons.

As the Warriors surged over the final month of the season, the crowds kept pace with their momentum, with 5,982 showing up for a five-set duel with UC Santa Barbara on senior night.

Turnstile attendance for a rematch with the Gauchos in the Big West tournament semifinals was announced at 4,734, and the championship match against Long Beach State drew 6,389 through the gates.

Championship night began with the fans taking the lead for a stanza of “Hawai’i Pono’i” and ended with a final Viking clap on aloha ball and the roar that accompanied Spyros Chakas’ kill off the Long Beach block. In between, the crowd provided volume and energy beyond its numbers and helped push the Warriors through the pivotal moments.

“High-level athletics is emotional, and when you get the crowd going you get that synergy effect, it’s real,” Wade said in the interview room after the final. “The support that not only we get for men’s volleyball but athletics in general, the more you come out and support your team, the higher level you can take your team to. We’re fortunate to have unbelievable support and they clearly impact the game in a positive way for us.”