LONG BEACH, Calif.—The top-seeded and No. 1 University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team (28-2) punched its ticket to the NCAA Championship match after defeating Lewis, 25-15, 25-17, 30-32, 25-16 Thursday night in the first of two semifinals at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif.

Hawai'i junior outside hitter Colton Cowell buried a team-high 15 kills to help propel UH to its first NCAA title match since 2002. The Rainbow Warriors will face the winner of the Long Beach State-Pepperdine match on Saturday, May 4.
 
As a team, Hawai'i's frontline out-blocked the physical Flyers, 14.0-to -4.5. UH also racked up 10 service aces, while Lewis was able to post just one ace with 19 service errors in the match. Hawai'i out-hit the Flyers, .368-to-.221.
 
Hawai'i featured three players with double-digit kills led by Cowell, who hit .481 (15-2-27). Senior outside hitter Stijn van Tilburg and junior opposite Rado Parapunov both added 11 kills apiece. Van Tilburg was also in on six blocks with four digs and a match-high three service aces. Middle blocker Patrick Gasman tied his career high with eight total blocks (one solo) while adding eight kills with just one error in 12 attacks for a team-high .667 hitting percentage.
 
Senior setter Joe Worsley tallied a double-double in the win, dishing out 38 assists with 10 digs to go with two service aces, three blocks and a kill.
 
In the first set, Hawai'i jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead with four points coming off van Tilburg's serve. But the Flyers would score six of the next nine points to close to within two at 9-7.  UH responded with an 8-to-2 run, highlighted by a pair of aces by Worsley. Hawai'i out-hit Lewis, .500-to-.190 in the opening set, with Cowell leading the Warriors with four kills. UH tallied four aces and two blocks in the first frame, cruising to a 25-15 win and 1-0 lead in the match.
 
The second set was much closer early on with eight ties between the two teams. UH led in the beginning, but the Flyers caught and then overtook the 'Bows at 10-9. Lewis went into the media timeout with a slim 15-14 lead. But after the timeout, the Warriors steam-rolled on an 11-to-2 run to take Set 2, 25-17. A service ace by Brett Rosenmeier ended the second set to give UH a 2-0 lead.
 
After UH led the majority of the third set, Lewis rallied with a 4-to-1 run late to knot the score at 21-21, forcing Hawai'i to call a timeout. From that point, both teams traded 14 consecutive side-outs. The Warriors were unable to close out the Flyers, who staved off six match-points. Hawai'i did not trail in the third set until Lewis took a 30-29 lead. The Flyers went on to steal Set 3, 32-30 to force Set 4.
 
In the fourth set, UH hit the gas pedal and never looked back. Back-to-back blocks gave UH a 9-5 lead and forced Lewis to call their first timeout. Later, UH extended its lead to 19-9 with Jakob Thelle serving five consecutive points. Lewis responded by scoring four-straight with Tyler Mictchem serving, cutting their deficit to 19-13. But after a UH a timeout, the Warriors ended the match on a 6-to-3 run to advance to the NCAA Championship match.
 
Lewis also had three players in double-figures in kills. Ryan Coenen led the Flyers with a match-high 18 kills while Mitch Perinar and Mitchem recording 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Setter Matt Yoshimoto posted 42 assists. Four players were in on two blocks each.
 
Hawai'i is now 3-2 in the NCAA semifinal round. With the win, UH improved to 28-2 on the season. The 28 wins is a UH program record, improving from the 27 wins tallied by the 1996 and 2017 teams. It is the third time that the Warriors had advanced to the NCAA Championship match.