MANOA — The University of Hawai‘i men’s volleyball team suffered its only loss of the season Friday during the semifinal of the Big West Tournament when the University of Californa-San Diego went five sets to blemish the Rainbow Warriors’ record.
The UCSD, seeded No. 4 in the Big West Tournament, was pit against No. 2 University of California-Santa Barbara for the tournament championship and a berth into the NCAA championship tournament. UC-Santa Barbara finished by winning the Big West Tournament title Saturday in four sets.
The Rainbow Warriors had to wait until Sunday when the NCAA announced that the UH-Manoa squad received an at-large berth, the tournament’s top overall seed and a first-round bye. They will face the winner of the Pepperdine/UCSB contest on Thursday, May 6.
The tournament starts next week in Columbus, Ohio.
The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation champion Brigham Young University gets the No. 2 seed, and a bye to the semifinals at the NCAA National Collegiate Championship.
Hawai‘i will be making its seventh all-time appearance in the championship tournament, and the second time as the tournament’s top seed. The Rainbow Warriors were the top seed in the 2019 tournament when they finished runner-up to host Long Beach State.
Seven teams make up the 2021 field that starts May 3 with a play-in match between Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association champion Penn State and Conference Carolinas champion Belmont Abbey.
Two opening-round matches take place May 4 — between Big West Champion UC Santa Barbara and MPSF runner-up Pepperdine, and Midwestern Interscholastic Volleyball Association champion Lewis facing the Penn State/Belmont Abbey winner.
Hawai‘i has an all-time record of 5-6 in the NCAA tourney, advancing to the championship match three times in its history. The Rainbow Warriors are seeking their first national title.
The Rainbow Warriors met Pepperdine during the 2002 title match where the University of Hawai‘i won, but later forfeited the title due to an ineligible player. Hawai‘i and UCSB have never met on the NCAA tournament floor.
The semifinal matches will be streamed live on NCAA.com, and the championship match will be televised live on ESPNU.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
