TIFF’S TAKEAWAYS FOR #WARRIORBALL26 - WEEK 14
By Tiff Wells
1. Let’s Dance – Going into its semifinal matchup against fifth seeded UC San Diego last Friday in the 2026 Outrigger Big West Championship presented by The Hawaiian Islands, Hawai`i knew they were in the 2026 National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship field. But why leave NCAA postseason fate in the hands of the committee when you can control your own destiny while other conference tournaments could potentially have a bid stealer here or there? Extra motivation was there for the Rainbow Warriors as they had a chance to atone for their only conference loss of the season in addition to having the opportunity to end UCSD’s season. Three relatively close sets at the media break saw the fourth set get blown open by an 11-0 Louis Sakanoko service run that aided UH’s 3-1 win and beat the Tritons for the first time in postseason history. While UH was out blocked 15 to 11.5, the overall Hawai`i defense held the Tritons to hitting .139 and just three aces (after nine in their win over UH 13 days ago). While Kristian Titriyski was limited to six kills, Adrien Roure overcame a slow start to finish with 10 kills and five blocks, hitting .261. Louis Sakanoko paced Hawai`i with 12 kills. When the middles got opportunities, they converted. Trevell Jordan had eight kills and four blocks, while Ofeck Hazan added four kills and four blocks. That win also put Hawai`i into the final of the Big West Championship for a second straight season and sixth time since the conference officially sponsored the sport ahead of the 2018 season. With Long Beach defeating host UC Irvine in the nightcap, it marked the fifth time the BWC final would be Hawai`i and LBSU. With match leads of 2-1 and 2-1, a lead of 23-22 in the second and five aloha ball opportunities in the fourth set, the Rainbow Warriors’ quest to go back-to-back was denied as The Beach took a 9-3 fifth set lead and won 15-11. The overall resume was still great enough that Hawai`i received one of five at-large bids in the first ever 12-team NCAA Championship field. The Bows were awarded the No. 2 overall seed and will host the Honolulu Regional this Friday and Saturday. Friday marks the first time since the 2004 National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball National Championship that a postseason Men’s Volleyball match will be played in Honolulu and for the first time in program history, UH will play an NCAA tournament match at home in this, their 11th NCAA appearance.
2. Hey Diddle Diddle – If you’ve listened to a broadcast this season or over the last few years, “Hey Diddle Diddle, insert player name up the middle” has been said for a kill by a middle blocker. What came into the season as the deepest position group on the 19-player roster, the five players that comprise the middle blocker depth chart was reduced to four after the foot injury to Roman Payne. Justin Todd, Trevell Jordan and Ofeck Hazan have each rotated in as two of the three starters during the season while Alex Parks has seen more of his contributions come in the practice gym while also earning some spot duty in matches. A Set 1 ankle injury to Justin Todd in Friday’s semifinal match moved Ofeck Hazan into the match for the rest of the day...and the tournament. At 20-19, Hazan’s first kill gave UH the two-point lead and he served out the set to give UH the 1-0 match lead. He finished with four kills and four blocks. Also adding four blocks was Trevell Jordan as he recorded eight kills on ten swings. Not many opportunities came to middles in the final against Long Beach but they were always ready on defense. The Hazan/Jordan combination were in on 12 of the 14.5 UH blocks, with a career-high 9 coming from Hazan. It also marked the fourth straight match and 13th time this season the Mānoa Roofing Company logged double-digit blocks. Playing middle isn’t the most glamorous or popular position. One can’t take a play off. One must always go 100% on offense without knowledge if the set will come their way or not. Blocking involves reading the opposing team and knowing where hitters are and where the setter likes to go in certain situations. Continue to run those offensive routes because the sets will come your way and will also free up the other hitters, both from the pins and the back row.
3. Three From BWC To NCAAs – With five of the seven conferences either starting or continuing their conference tournament last week, many felt that even with a loss, both Hawai`i and Long Beach State were safely into the field. Each had strong resumes to be considered as a regional host site and both had also put in a bid to be a host. As seen during College Basketball’s Champ Week, there is always the threat of the bid stealer. Oh the bid stealer; a team that has just one shot to get into the national tournament and the only way to do that is to win their conference tournament. And then there are those bubble teams. They might be in, they might out. But a win or two could make them feel more confident going into Selection Sunday. They are a team that roots for all top seeds in the other conferences to win their respective tournaments. UC Irvine was a bubble team with UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego and CSUN being that proverbial bid stealing team that could play spoiler ahead of Selection Sunday. With the expansion of the 2026 National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship from a nine-team field to 12, the Big West Conference made history in year nine of sponsoring the sport. For the first time ever, the Big West received three invitations to the National Tournament. By virtue of winning the conference tournament, Long Beach State (24-4) received one of seven automatic bids from the respective conference tournaments. LBSU makes their 16th all-time appearance in the postseason and the opportunity is there for them to defend their 2025 National Championship. For an 11th time, Hawai`i (27-5) will be in the NCAA postseason as well. For UH, it marks their second straight appearance as UH has made six of the last seven contested championships. Joining the Bows as the second of five at-large recipients is UC Irvine (18-8). A big win over Pepperdine, two wins over BYU and playing in the Big West (the No.1 rated conference by RPI), led the Anteaters to their ninth NCAA appearance. Only the bold, only The Beach, Rainbow Warriors and Anteaters will be playing in the 2026 national postseason.
4. Four Regional Sites – With the funding there and the sport growing, the powers that be expanded the bracket from nine teams in 2025 to 12 here in 2026. In doing so, it created the opportunity to reward the top four seeds with hosting their own three-team regional. Seven conferences (Big West, MPSF, MIVA, EIVA, Conference Carolinas, NEC and SIAC) receive automatic qualifying bids with a five-person committee then selecting the five at-large teams to round out the bracket. The four regional winners then head to Los Angeles for the National Semifinals with the two winners playing for the National Championship. Only four teams (UCLA, Hawai`i, Long Beach State and Ball State) were seeded on the bracket and with Regionals in Los Angeles (UCLA), Honolulu (Hawai`i), Long Beach (Long Beach State) and Ball State (Noblesville, Ind.). Located in Muncie, Ball State is less than hour away from Noblesville and they will be playing in Riverview Health Arena at Innovational Mile due to the unavailability of the Cardinals’ home venue (Joe Worthen Arena) because of Ball State’s commencement ceremonies. The Los Angeles and Noblesville Regionals are on the top half of the bracket, while the Honolulu and Long Beach Regionals make up the bottom half of the bracket. MPSF co-regular season champ and tournament champ UCLA (AQ) is the No.1 overall seed and will host the Los Angeles Regional. Joining them are EIVA champ Penn State (AQ) and Big West at-large UC Irvine. MIVA regular season and tournament champ Ball State (AQ) is the No. 4 overall seed, hosting the Noblesville Regional. Making the trip to Indiana will be SIAC regular season and tournament champion Fort Valley State (AQ), as well as MPSF at-large Pepperdine. The Honolulu regional features No. 2 overall seed Hawai`i, an at-large out of the Big West. Coming to the island will be Conference Carolinas regular season and tournament champ Belmont Abbey (AQ), as well as MPSF at-large USC. It marks the first ever NCAA match for UH at home and for the first time since the 2004 National Championship, NCAA postseason Men’s Volleyball will be played in Hawai`i. Big West tournament championship Long Beach State (AQ) is the No. 3 overall seed and host site of the Long Beach Regional. In that pod will be NEC regular season and tournament winner Saint Francis (AQ) and MIVA at-large Loyola. As of right now, only the National Championship match will be on ESPN2 (Monday, May 11th at 4:00 p.m. PT) with all other matches available on ESPN+.
graphic courtesy of The NCAA
5. Five First-Teamers – Ahead of the 2026 Outrigger Big West Championship presented by The Hawaiian Islands that began on Thursday, the conference announced its First Team awardees, in addition to those making both Honorable Mention and All-Freshman. For Hawai`i, they had five first-team honorees (which led the Big West) and it’s the most for UH on the First Team since 2023. Hawai`i also had five selected to the First Team in 2019. Tread Rosenthal received his third selection to the First Team. The Junior Setter tops the Big West and is second nationally in assists per set (10.63). He’s also one of eight semifinalists for the AVCA National Player of the Year award and at UH is currently sixth in all-time assists and tied for fifth in service aces. Adrien Roure makes the First Team for a second consecutive year. Named to the Outrigger Volleyball Invitational All-Tournament Team, Roure tops Hawai`i with 36 service aces, while hitting .325 on the season. Also making First Team for a second straight year is Kristian Titriyski. After not playing at all in February, his return to the lineup for conference play helped Hawai`i to a 9-1 regular season record and its third Big West Conference regular season title. He’s had 10 or more kills in all 10 conference matches, while recording 20 or more kills two times this season. Two more UH players received First Team honors. Louis Sakanoko is having a career year as a junior. Hitting .358 on the season, the Paris native is second on the team with 3.18 kills/set, is third on the team with 28 aces and fourth with 1.37 digs per set. Many wondered what the libero position would look like after UH lost its two-year starter `Eleu Choy to graduation. Insert Quintin Greenidge. The Hamilton, Ontario native has started 28 matches at libero and leads the conference with a 2.11 digs per set average. He is a main reason why UH continues to top the conference in digs per set (8.70). One of the few, if not only sports in a conference that does this, the major conference awards (Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and Freshman of the Year) are announced after the conference tournament is concluded. Don’t be surprised if Hawai`i takes one or two of these awards when they are announced later this week.
6. Irvine Painted Green Again – It was a sea of green and white inside The Bren Events Center in 2023, the last time UC Irvine hosted the conference tournament. UH didn’t play in the first round then and fast forward three years later, UH once again had the bye on First Round Thursday. Whether they flew over from the islands or took one of the many freeways within California to get them to Irvine, Hawai`i fans showed up. The support on the men’s side is second to none and between the signing of Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī with the team before introductions, making any kind of lei for the players, doing the “roof” chant with the towel after a block and yelling out “Let’s Go Bows” during the match, it truly felt like home. Being with the team in Long Beach, Irvine (twice) and La Jolla, we’ve joked on the broadcast and dubbed the road venues “Bankoh East” because the atmosphere created by the visiting fans gives off the home vibe. Creating that home aura when on the road has helped UH to an 11-2 (10-1 in true road matches, 1-1 neutral site) record away from Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Even as UH had the bye on Thursday, Hawai`i fans still came to watch because they just love the sport and wanted to watch. While the box scores from the two UH matches combined for a little over 5800 (2369 on Friday and 3501 on Saturday), you the Hawai`i fan that were there created a great atmosphere for the matches and the team could feel the aloha from those that weren’t able to attend as well. If all goes well in the Honolulu Regional this weekend, don’t be surprised when UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion is the next venue to be painted Green and dubbed Bankoh East.