HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team begins play in the NCAA Championship tournament with a regional final match-up against the winner of Southern California and Belmont Abbey, Saturday, May 2 at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Warriors (27-5) were awarded the No. 2-seed in the newly expanded 12-team tournament and are hosts to one of four, three-team regionals along with top-seeded UCLA, No. 3-seed Long Beach State, and No. 4-seed Ball State.

MATCH #33
What				National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship
Who				#2-seed Hawai'i (27-5) vs. USC (19-7) or Belmont Abbey (20-5)
Date | Time				Saturday, May 2 | 4:00 p.m.
Location				Honolulu, O'ahu - Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center (10,300)
Television				None
Live Stream				ESPN+. Jordan Helle (play-by-play) and Ryan Tsuji (analyst)
Radio				ESPN Honolulu (1500AM/92.7FM). Tiff Wells (play-by-play)
Streaming Audio				ESPNHonolulu.com; ESPN Honolulu app
Live Stats				Hawaii.statbroadcast.com
Game Notes				Hawai'i | USC | Belmont Abbey
Digital Program				Coming Soon
Social Media				@HawaiiMensVB  | #HawaiiMVB #WarriorBall26 | @HawaiiMVB  | Facebook

NCAA TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Regional Round | Friday, May 1
Pepperdine vs. Fort Valley State
UC Irvine vs. Penn State
Loyola Chicago vs. Saint Francis
Southern California vs. Belmont Abbey
 
Regional Finals | Saturday, May 2
No. 4 Ball State vs. winner of Pepperdine/Fort Valley State
No. 1 UCLA vs. winner of UC Irvine/Penn State
No. 3 Long Beach State vs. winner of Loyola Chicago/Saint Francis
No. 2 Hawai'i vs. winner of Southern California/Belmont Abbey
 
Semifinals | Saturday, May 9 (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Semifinal #1
Semifinal #2
 
Final | Monday, May 11 (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Championship Match

SERIES INFORMATION

Overall vs. USC: UH leads 45-38
            In Honolulu: UH leads 26-15
            In Los Angeles: USC leads 21-18
            Neutral: USC leads 2-1
Postseason: USC leads 2-1
Last Meeting: 3/15/25, USC 3-1
Streak: USC 1

Overall vs. Belmont Abbey: UH leads 2-0
            In Honolulu: None
            In Belmont: UH leads 2-0
            Neutral: None
Postseason: None
Last Meeting: 2/20/25, UH 3-0
Streak: UH 2

FIRST SERVE

• Hawai'i (27-5) is making its 11th all-time NCAA Championship appearance with an 12-8 mark in the tournament and two national titles (2021 & '22).
• Although UH has hosted three previous NCAA Championships (1991, '98, 2004) — all when the tournament was a four-team field — the Warriors have never competed while serving as host.
• Head coach Charlie Wade has led UH to eight NCAA appearances in 17 seasons—all since 2015—with an 9-5 record in the tournament.
• UH is the No. 2 seed in the tournament for its third consecutive appearance (2023, '25 and '26). In 2023, Hawai'i advanced to the title match against No. 1 seed UCLA and lost in four sets. Last season, UH lost to third-seeded UCLA in the semifinals.
• UH and USC have never met in the NCAA Tournament. The teams have played three times in the postseason, each time at the conference tournament with the Trojans winning two of those match-ups. UH won the last postseason meeting at the 2001 MPSF Playoffs.
• UH leads the all-time series with USC, 45-38, including a 26-15 advantage in Honolulu. The Trojans won the last meeting which occurred on the final day of the 2025 OUTRIGGER Invitational in Honolulu.
• UH and Belmont Abbey have played twice all-time with Hawai'i winning both match-ups in Belmont, N.C. The teams have not met in the postseason.
• This year marks the first time UH is playing a home match in the NCAA tournament in program history after having hosted but not playing in 1991, '98, and 2004.

 
UH IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP

• UH is making its 11th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance, eight of which have occurred in the last 11 seasons (2015, '17, '19, '21, '22, '23, '25, and '26).
• UH has a 13-8 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament, including a 3-1 mark in the opening rounds.
• UH captured the program's first national title in 2021 in Columbus, Ohio with a straight-set win over BYU and repeated in 2022 in Los Angeles, Calif., with a straight-set win over Long Beach State.
• Head coach Charlie Wade, who took over the program in 2010, led UH the national championship match in four straight seasons (2019, '21, '22. and '23), becoming the first school to do so since UCLA (1993-96), which made six straight appearances.
• Four different Warriors have been named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament — Yuval Katz (1996), Costas Theocharidis (2002), Rado Parapunov (2021), and Spyros Chakas (2022).
• UH has advanced to the NCAA Championship semifinals 10 times in its history and to the finals match six times — 1996, 2002, '19, '21, '22, and '23.
• Since 2015, UH has the second-most NCAA Tournament appearances with eight trips trailing Long Beach State (9).
• The program made its very first appearance in the NCAA Championship tournament in 1995, travelling to Springfield, Mass., where they fell in a tight five-set semifinal battle against Penn State.

 
A HISTORIC FIRST

• This year marks the first time UH is playing a home match in the NCAA Championship tournament in program history.
• Previously, UH served as host of the NCAA Championship tournament when it was a four-team event in 1991, '98, and 2004. The 1991 championship was held at the Neil Blaisdell Arena in downtown Honolulu while the 1998 and 2004 tournaments were played at the Stan Sheriff Center.
• The 1998 event set a then-NCAA Championship record for total attendance of 18,901. The title match between UCLA and Pepperdine drew a single-match record of 9,822, a record that still stands today.