FAIRFAX, Va. >> Whether measured in weeks or decades, a sense of history accompanies the final day of the collegiate men’s volleyball season and the renewal of one of Hawaii’s storied rivalries.
Hawaii will enter EagleBank Arena this afternoon with an opportunity to become the first team in nearly 40 years to win three consecutive national championships — UCLA won four straight titles from 1981 to ’84.
The Bruins are back in the NCAA final for the first time since 2018 seeking a 20th title that has eluded the program since winning their last championship in 2006.
Of more immediate concern for the current Rainbow Warriors and Bruins are the memories of their four-set duel on the final night of the Outrigger Volleyball Invitational in March and the lessons gleaned in preparation for their rematch in the nationally televised final on ESPN2.
UH’s victory in a sold-out SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center on March 11 ended a five-year hiatus in the series and heightened anticipation for the 96th all-time meeting between the programs.
“It was good to have them back out for the Outrigger this year and really looking forward to competing against the team that has won the most national championships in our sport,” UH coach Charlie Wade said on Friday. “And I think it’s a great stage and a great exhibition of our sport for people all over the country to see.”
A day after surviving a five-set semifinal duel with Penn State, the second-seeded Warriors went through a light practice in EagleBank Arena on Friday, spending about an hour on the court with an emphasis on recharging for today’s final of the National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship. No. 1 seed UCLA had a far shorter night in dispatching Long Beach State in 91 minutes on Thursday.
The final is set for 11 a.m. (5 p.m. Eastern) on the campus of George Mason University, where green is already the predominant color and figures to again be prominent in the arena today.
“I am excited to have this opportunity, I was hopeful it would have happened last year,” UCLA coach John Speraw said, referring to the Bruins’ semifinal loss to Long Beach State in last season’s tournament in Pauley Pavilion.
“Now it’s our chance and we have a really fun matchup ahead. I know the crowd is going to be predominantly pro-Hawaii out there. They travel very well and they typically do and we saw that in ’96 in Pauley Pavilion.”
Today’s match will be the second between Hawaii and UCLA in an NCAA final and first since 1996, when the Bruins rallied past a UH team led by all-tournament selections Yuval Katz, Jason Ring and Aaron Wilton 15–13, 12–15, 9–15, 17–15, 15–12 at Pauley Pavilion.
Speraw was part of the senior class that powered the Bruins to the 1995 title and was on the UCLA bench for the ’96 season assisting the coaching staff led by Al Scates.
Speraw recalled Scates’ tactical mastery in his substitution patterns and the on-court virtuosity of Punahou alum Stein Metzger — now UCLA’s beach volleyball coach — over the course of a match that was often more gritty than pretty.
“(Metzger) basically took over the match by himself as a setter,” said Speraw, who led UC Irvine to three NCAA titles before taking over at UCLA in 2012. “He was even dumping from 5, 6 feet off the net and making it happen.”
Some 27 years later, today’s matchup also features dynamic setters on both sides of the net — one closing out a decorated career, the other just getting started, and both first-team All-Americans this season.
Jakob Thelle will play his final match in a Hawaii uniform, having led the Warriors’ attack through two national title runs, and as a two-time Big West Player of the Year and this season’s AVCA National Player of the Year.
UCLA freshman Andrew Rowan was named the AVCA Newcomer of the Year after taking command of the Bruins’ offense full-time early in the season.
They’ve directed the nation’s most efficient attacks, with UCLA leading the way with a .383 hitting percentage and Hawaii just behind at .370. In terms of production, UH ranks first at 13.31 kills per set with UCLA second at 13.19.
The matchups of first-team All-Americans extend to the pins in Warriors opposite Dimitrios Mouchlias and Bruins counterpart Ido David and in the middle with UH’s Guilherme Voss and UCLA’s Merrick McHenry.
The teams rank in the top four nationally in blocks per set and emphasize applying service pressure throughout their rotations.
The Warriors also carry with them the experience of playing in the NCAA final in each of the past three seasons and practiced in a point-to-point approach in the year’s biggest match.
“I think our team has a lot of trust in themselves and in the fact that we have everything that we need in order to get the victory,” Voss said. “So we just trust ourselves. We’re a very calm team when it comes to that.”
That said, senior middle and Waimanalo product Cole Hogland equated his mindset entering his final collegiate match to catching a south shore set.
“Just like one fat wave coming in, you gotta send ’um,” Hogland said. “You’re not just going to back off, you gotta to go for (it), because if you miss it you’re going to miss the chance of a lifetime.”
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NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship match
At EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Va., 11 a.m.
No. 1 UCLA (30-2) vs. No. 2 Hawaii (29-2)
Conferences
>> UCLA: Mountain Pacific Sports Federation
>> Hawaii: Big West
Coaches
>> UCLA: John Speraw (11th year)
>> Hawaii: Charlie Wade (14th year)
Series
>> UCLA leads 64-31 overall, 8-1 in postseason
National titles (last)
>> UCLA: 19 (2006)
>> Hawaii: 2 (2022)
Probable starters
>> UCLA: OH Ethan Champlin, MB Merrick McHenry, Opp Ido David, OH Alex Knight, MB Guy Genis, S Andrew Rowan, L Troy Gooch.
>> Hawaii: OH Spyros Chakas, MB Guilherme Voss, Opp Dimitrios Mouchlias, OH Chaz Galloway, MB Cole Hogland, S Jakob Thelle, L Brett Sheward.
Matchup
Speed thrills for both offenses. Thelle’s chemistry with Voss and Hogland often leads to lightning-strike attacks in the middle. Establishing the middles can also clear the runway for back-row swings for Chakas and Galloway. In the first meeting with UCLA and again in Thursday’s semifinal against Penn State, the Rainbow Warriors leaned heavily on Mouchlias on the right side. He put away 22 kills on 41 swings in UH’s win over the Bruins and posted a season-high 25 kills on 44 attacks in the five-set win over Penn State.
UCLA has also picked up the tempo as Rowan made a smooth transition into the starting role. David led four Bruins in double figures with 21 kills in the first meeting and McHenry went 11-for-17.
Service pressure can be an effective keeping offenses in a lower gear. UCLA has fired with abandon this season and averages 1.96 aces per set against 5.08 errors per set. But the Bruins committed just six total service errors with five aces in Thursday’s sweep of Long Beach State. Wade has long emphasized efficiency and aggressiveness from the service line and the Warriors average 1.66 aces to 3.76 errors per set this season and overcame a season-high 21 errors against Penn State.
