LONG BEACH, Calif. – The University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team will face top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Long Beach State in the championship match of the inaugural Big West Conference Tournament, Saturday, at the Walter Pyramid. First serve is 7:00 p.m. PT (4:00 p.m. HT).
The second-seeded Rainbow Warriors (19-7) defeated UC Irvine in four sets in Friday's semifinal round while the 49ers (25-1) swept CSUN in straight sets to advance to the title match and a rematch of last week's series in Honolulu. Both matches went to five sets with the Beach winning the series opener and the Warriors taking the rematch, handing the 49ers their only loss of the season and a chance for an undefeated regular season.
The match-up is also a rematch of last year's Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament championship match, won by the Beach in four sets also at the Pyramid.
In UH's semifinal win over the Anteaters, opposite
Rado Parapunov tallied a match-high 15 kills and four aces while outside hitter
Stijn van Tilburg added 11 kills, hitting .391. Middle blocker
Dalton Solbrig did not commit a hitting error in 12 attempts with nine kills and five blocks. The Warriors hit .356 in the match with nine service aces and eight blocks.
Match #27
What: Big West Conference Tournament Championship Match
Who: (2) Hawai'i (19-7) vs. (1) Long Beach State (25-1)
When: Saturday, April 21
Time: 7:00 p.m. PT (4:00 p.m. HT)
Where: Walter Pyramid; Long Beach, Calif.
Streaming Video: ESPN3; Rahshaun Haylock (play-by-play), Dain Blanton (analyst), Matt Brown (sideline)
Radio Coverage: ESPN 1420AM; Tiff Wells (play-by-play)
Audio Webcast: espn1420am.com
Live Stats: LongBeachState.com
UH-LBSU Postseason:Hawai'i and Long Beach State have met four times in the postseason with each team winning twice. Aside from last year's MPSF Tournament finals, won by the Beach, the teams also met three times in the MPSF quarterfinals in matches held in Honolulu (2015 - UH won; 2005 - LBSU won; and 2002 - UH won).
In the 'Ship:In 24 seasons as a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, Hawai'i advanced to the championship match four times with an 0-4 mark. UH lost in the 1995, 2001, '02, and '17 title matches.
What's At Stake?:The winner of the Big West Tournament earns the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, which will be held in Los Angeles. The tournament consists of seven teams and will feature three play-in matches (April 28 & May 1) in addition to the semi-finals (May 3) and finals (May 5). Currently, UH is ranked No. 5 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings, which is used to determine the field.
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