COLUMBUS, Ohio – The University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team will play in the NCAA Championship match and will face rival BYU Saturday, May 8 at the Covelli Center. The Rainbow Warriors (16-1) are making their fourth-ever title match appearance after a straight-set win over UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals. The Cougars (20-3) are playing in their eighth national finals and are seeking their fourth title. The teams split a two-match series in Honolulu last season with UH pulling out a dramatic reverse sweep in front of a sold-out crowd at the Stan Sheriff Center. The match will be televised live on ESPNU and on radio at ESPN Honolulu at 8:00 p.m. ET (2:00 p.m. HT).
 

2021 NCAA NATIONAL MEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Who				Hawai'i (16-1) vs. BYU (20-3)
Date | Time				Saturday, May 8; 8:00 p.m. ET (2:00 p.m. HT)
Location				Columbus, Ohio — Covelli Center
Television				ESPNU. Paul Sunderland (play-by-play) and Kevin Barnett (analyst).
Live Stream				espn.com/watch
Radio				ESPN Honolulu (1420AM/92.7FM). Tiff Wells (play-by-play).
Streaming Audio				ESPNHonolulu.com; Sideline Hawaii app
Live Stats				NCAA.com
Game Notes				Hawai'i
Social Media				@HawaiiMensVB  | #HawaiiMVB #WarriorBall21 | @HawaiiMVB  | Facebook

      
FIRST SERVE

• Hawai'i (16-1) is making its fourth national championship match appearance and second straight. UH also played for the national title in 1996, 2002, and 2019, and is 1-2 in title matches. (UH won and later vacated the 2002 title).
• UH and BYU have never met in the NCAA Tournament. However, they have faced each other seven times in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament with BYU holding a 5-2 advantage.
• BYU leads the all-time series between the teams 42-22.
• The teams split a two-match series in 2020 in Honolulu which turned out to be the final regular season matches of a season that was cut short due to the pandemic. The Cougars won the series opener in straight sets and led 2-0 in the rematch before the Warriors made an epic comeback and won 19-17 in the fifth set of a reverse sweep.
• As the tournament's No. 1 seed in 2019, UH advanced to the title match where it fell to host Long Beach State in four sets.
• Head coach Charlie Wade has guided the Warriors to the NCAA Tournament four times in the last six seasons (note: no tournament in 2020 due to the pandemic), which included a runner-up finish in 2019. Wade's NCAA Tournament record with UH is 3-3.
• MB Patrick Gasman has made five career NCAA Tournament starts, and has tallied 32 kills (1.68 kps) and 24 blocks (1.26 bps) in 19 sets played. OPP Rado Parapunov came off the bench in both NCAA matches as a true freshman in 2017. In 2019, he started both matches and averaged 3.38 kills per set with two aces and seven blocks. In 16 sets played in the NCAA Tournament, he has 39 kills, 3 aces, 14 digs, and 12 blocks.
• Parapunov has reached double figures in kills in all 16 matches this season and 22 straight dating back to last season. 
• The University of Hawai'i's last team NCAA title was the 1987 women's volleyball team. The  school's last national title in any organization was the 2004 coed sailing team which won the ICSA national championship. 

BUCKS-FOR-BLOCKS

• University of Hawai'i Athletics and 'Ahahui Koa Ānuenue are inviting fans to pledge per block in the "Bucks for Blocks" fundraising initiative for the 2021 men's volleyball season.
• Although currently it is not possible to attend matches, this program provides an alternate way to cheer on the Rainbow Warriors while also supporting UH Athletics.
• Make your pledge here.