The University of Hawai‘i men’s volleyball team saw its national title hopes come to an end Saturday, falling in straight sets to rival UCLA in the semifinals of the NCAA Championship at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio.
Second-seeded Hawai‘i (27-6), the Big West champions, was swept 25-14, 25-23, 25-23 by the No. 3 Bruins (22-6), who advanced to face top-seeded Long Beach State in Monday’s national title match. The loss marks UH’s first NCAA semifinal defeat since 2017, also in Columbus, after making the national championship match in each of its last four Final Four appearances.
UCLA dominated from the service line and at the net, finishing with six aces and 11 blocks while hitting .370 as a team. UH, limited by a shorthanded rotation, hit just .188. Freshman outside hitter Adrien Roure led the Warriors with 12 kills, two aces, and a .333 hitting percentage. All-American setter Tread Rosenthal contributed 19 assists and four kills, while redshirt freshman Justin Todd had a hand in all four of UH’s blocks.
The Bruins controlled much of the match, racing to a 10-4 lead in the opening set and never looking back. Despite second-set surges that included a late 23-22 lead by UH, UCLA responded each time and closed strong. In the third, UH narrowed the gap to 22-21, but the Bruins finished the match with two straight points after a pair of service errors were exchanged.
The semifinal run caps a resilient season for Hawai‘i, which returned to the NCAA Tournament after missing out in 2024. The match also marked the final collegiate appearance for seniors ‘Eleu Choy, Kawai Hong, Kurt Nusterer, Zachary Thompson, and Clay Wieter.