A rematch over two years in the making could be telling of what may soon be a dogfight.

And a shootout may exactly be what happen as No. 3 seed UCLA men’s volleyball (21-6, 10-2 MPSF) prepare to face No. 2 seed Hawaiʻi (27-5, 7-3 Big West) on Saturday evening at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio, for the NCAA tournament semifinals. UCLA enters the matchup having swept No. 6 seed Belmont Abbey in the quarterfinals, while Hawaiʻ’i defeated No. 7 seed Penn State in four sets in its first-round affair.

The last time the Bruins and the Rainbow Warriors squared off came in 2023 when the former defeated the latter in the national championship.

Although it’s been two years since that last contest, UCLA returns a roster headlined by four 2025 AVCA All-Americans – three of whom contributed to the program’s 20th NCAA title. Among the trio is junior setter Andrew Rowan, whose 60 assists against Hawaiʻi have been matched just one time since.

Nonetheless, the three-time AVCA First Team All-American selection has continued to develop alongside his outside hitter duo redshirt junior Cooper Robinson and junior Zach Rama.

In UCLA’s quarterfinal victory over Belmont Abbey, Rowan posted 37 assists across three sets, helping produce a combined 24 kills for the pin-hitting duo on .529 and .476 hitting percentages, respectively.

While the Rainbow Warriors aren’t unfamiliar to these returning Bruins, new faces give first-year coach John Hawks new tricks to pull out of his sleeve.

Freshman outside hitter Sean Kelly has proved valuable in replacing senior Ido David, who has been in and out of the rotation because of injury and will most likely play as a serving specialist in the tournament. Just two years ago, the outside hitter/opposite led the squad in its championship game with 23 kills, but looks to be a non-factor here.

Kelly, a 2025 All-MPSF Freshman Team selection, has posted double-digit kills in seven of his last nine outings, with his last two performances featuring .400-plus hitting clips.

UCLA may need to rely on momentum going into its upcoming semifinal appearance to stymie a Hawai‘i team looking for vengeance from the 2023 finals.

Across three sets in the quarterfinals, the Bruins outscored the Crusaders by 25 points and held them under 20 points in two of the three frames. Additionally, the Bruins held a double-digit advantage in kills, blocks and assists.

Contributing to this success was junior middle blocker Cameron Thorne, whose six-block performance marked the seventh time he’s achieved such measure.

Throne’s two-way skillset – hitting at a .526 percentage and ranking 11th in the nation in blocks per set with 1.09 – may be vital to building a Bruin lead and mitigating the Rainbow Warriors’ attack, one spearheaded by 6-foot-11-inch setter Tread Rosenthal.

The 2025 AVCA First Team All-American selection ranks third in the nation in assists per set and has led Hawai‘i to the sixth-best hitting percentage in the country.

Receiving his passes is outside hitter Adrien Roure. The second 2025 AVCA First Team All-American ranks third in the country in kills per set but garnered just five kills and a -.038 hitting percentage against Penn State in the quarterfinals.

Notably, neither Rosenthal nor Roure were in college yet at the time of the last UCLA and Hawai’i matchup, meaning precedence is no easy indicator of repeated victory.

Hawai‘i might have all the motivation in the world to avenge its national championship loss two years ago, defeating No. 1 seed Long Beach State twice in the final five matches of the season.

But roster upheaval and new faces on both sides of the court will most likely make this a tightly-contested affair, incomparable to the one that took place in 2023.

Regardless of who wins, one of the squads will have the opportunity to face the winner of No. 1 seed Long Beach State and No. 5 seed Pepperdine for the chance to crown themselves the 2025 national champions.

Gino Gualandi had 17 kills and 11 digs, leading Delaware Valley over Wilkes-Barre Area, 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-22), in a Wyoming Valley Conference win at home Friday.

Luke Peereboom added 13 kills and three blocks for the Warriors, while Eric Choi had 40 assists and nine digs.

Blue Ridge 3, Hazleton Area 0: Parker Glasgow had nine kills and an ace, as Blue Ridge swept Hazleton Area, 25-18, 25-15, 25-16, in a nonleague win.

Landon Bishop added seven kills and six aces, while Owen Martin had six kills and 10 digs.

Girls lacrosse

Holy Redeemer 8, Delaware Valley 5: Holy Redeemer scored three goals in the fourth quarter to lead the Royals past Delaware Valley in a Wyoming Valley Conference win.

The game was moved to Delaware Valley because of field conditions.

Gillian Parsons led the way for Redeemer with four goals, and Megan Albrecht added a hat trick for the Royals.

For the Warriors, Ava Kraszewski had two goals and an assist, while Rhyanne Rettinger added a goal and an assist.

HR — Goals: Parsons 4, Albrecht 3, Glaser; Saves: Curley 7; DV — Goals: Kraszewski 2, Morris, Liz, Rettinger; Assists: Kraszewski, Rettinger; Saves: Palacios 6.

Stanford, UCLA Advance to Semifinals of NCAA Women’s Water Polo Tournament

The quarterfinals of the NCAA Women’s Water Polo Tournament featured the top four seeds advancing to the semifinals during Friday action at the famed Indiana University Natatorium. Top seeded Stanford and defending champion UCLA could be on a collision course to meet in the title game after securing victories in their opening contests.

Here’s a look at the quarterfinal results.

Stanford 28, Wagner 6

Juliette Dhalluin

No. 1 seeded Stanford scored 10 times in the opening period and cruised over Wagner, which advanced to Indianapolis by beating McKendree in an opening-round matchup. Stanford received scoring from 13 players and received hat tricks from Alissa Pascual, Juliette Dhalluin, Maggie Hawkins, Ella Woodhead and Ryann Neushul.

Carlota Alonso scored twice for Wagner.

Hawaii 8, Cal 7

A three-goal fourth quartet enabled fourth-seeded Hawaii to rally from behind and take down Cal-Berkeley. Jordan Wedderburn, Ema Vernoux and Bernadette Doyle scored in the final period for Hawaii, which stormed back from a 6-5 deficit through three quarters. Alia Burlock, Wedderburn, Vernoux and Doyle all scored twice for Hawaii. Goalie Talia Fonseca made nine saves.

Cal was paced by Eszter Varro, who registered a hat trick.

UCLA 11, Loyola-Marymount 8

Defending champion UCLA was tested by Loyola-Marymount, but the Bruins kept LMU off the scoreboard in the final quarter to register a three-goal triumph. Emma Lineback fired in five goals for UCLA, the second seed, while Bia Mantellato added three scores. Goalie Lauren Steele was credited with nine saves.

Ruth Arino Ruiz had five goals and Carolina Magano tallied three times to account for the Loyola-Marymount scoring.

USC  18, Harvard 7

The third-seeded University of Southern California found the net five times in each of the first two quarters to build a big lead and was never threatened. Emily Ausmus and Ava Stryker scored three times each for the Trojans, who received three assists from Rachel Gazzaniga.

Ruby Hodge led Harvard with three goals.

Semifinals (Saturday, May 10)

Stanford vs. Hawaii – Noon

UCLA vs. USC – 2 p.m.

The semifinals will be streamed on NCAA.com

Laramie senior Will Arens has signed to compete in track and field at St. Olaf College in Minnesota. Arens is a four-year letter-winner in indoor and outdoor track at Laramie High School. He has been a sprinter, jumper, and relay member in four years at LHS. Arens qualified in three events for the outdoor track state championships in 2024. He has also participated in the indoor track state championships over the last three years.

During the 2024 outdoor season, Arens helped the Plainsmen take third place in the 4×400-meter relay at the 4A state track meet. They ran 3:25.23. Will also placed ninth in the long jump and 16th in the triple jump.

This spring, Arens has pre-qualified for the state championships in the long jump with a leap of 21-5.50. That is a personal best.

He has run 12.48 in the 100 meters, 25.03 in the 200 meters, and 52.65 in the 400 meters. Arens has also run on 4×100, 4×400, and Sprint Medley relays during the 2025 indoor and outdoor seasons.

Besides track and field, Arens has played baseball for the American Legion Laramie Rangers. He helped them to a top-four finish in the 2024 season.

St. Olaf College is in Northfield, MN. The Oles compete at the NCAA Division III level and are members of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAA).

ORLANDO — The George Jenkins boys volleyball team knew the competition would ramp up in the Class 3A regional semifinals Friday at Freedom High School.