Sloppy play persisted for the Hawaii men’s volleyball team during its two-match NCAA Tournament showing in Columbus, Ohio, this week.

The Rainbow Warriors managed to get past Penn State, anyway, in a quarterfinal on Thursday. Against two-time defending national champion UCLA on Saturday? It was too much to ask.

Second-seeded UH came out with its worst all-around set of the season — a combination of strong play by the Bruins and unforced errors by the ‘Bows — and did not improve enough in a 25-14, 25-23, 25-23 defeat in little more than 90 minutes of play at Ohio State’s Covelli Center.

UH saw its season end at 27-6 while UCLA (22-6) advanced to face top-ranked Long Beach State in Monday’s national championship match.

UCLA, an at-large team out of the MPSF, hit a staggering .370 to UH’s .188. Setter Tread Rosenthal tallied only 19 assists, well below his usual figures.

The disparity in quality in passing was striking, and the Bruins won the blocks battle decisively, 10.0 to 4.0.

Serving, usually a UH strength, could not compare with UCLA’s, either, as the Bruins won aces 6-3 while service errors were nearly a wash.

UH won consecutive points to get within 22-21 in Set 3, but Adrien Roure sailed a serve long. UCLA committed a service error right back, but Finn Kearney put a ball into the net, giving the Bruins match point at 24-22.

Cooper Robinson put down a heater from the 3-meter line to end it.

There was some chatter between the teams through the net on the deciding point. Coach Charlie Wade challenged a net violation, delaying UCLA’s celebration. It took only a moment for the officials to confirm the call, and the teams shook hands.

Roure, a Big West first-team hitter as a freshman, led UH with 12 kills. No one else had more than six. The freshman opposite Kearney was held to .087, hitting on 23 swings. UH’s third pin hitter Louis Sakanoko had just one kill on nine swings, hitting .000.

The starting UH middles, Kurt Nusterer and Justin Todd, were held to a combined three kills.

Sean Kelly led UCLA with 13 kills (.435) and Zach Rama added 10.

Opposite Kristian Titriyski remained out of the lineup for UH.

Note: This story will be updated.

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.

This post was updated May 10 at 8:15 p.m.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Winston Churchill said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”

For the reigning back-to-back national champions and three sets away from the first three-peat since 1984, success is definitely not final.

And when that same squad gets swept by its crosstown rivals in its regular-season finale and falls in five to the No. 4 seed of its conference tournament, failure may just be fatal.

But don’t forget that courage matters most.

For the third consecutive season, No. 3 seed UCLA men’s volleyball (22-6, 10-2 MPSF) is heading to the NCAA tournament final after sweeping No. 2 seed and Big West conference tournament winner Hawai’i (27-6, 7-3 Big West) at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio. The Bruins sported a .370 hitting percentage while holding the Rainbow Warriors to just a .188 clip.

“Every year is a challenge in of itself, but this year we have faced the most adversity we have ever had,” said redshirt junior outside hitter Cooper Robinson. “We are family right now. We have been having great meetings, like team meetings. Our leaders are stepping up in the right ways, it’s just clicking all at the same time.”

While UCLA dominated the statsheet – garnering 10 more kills, 11 more assists and three more service aces than Hawai‘i – it was the energy that permeated the squad that propelled it to victory.

Despite the Covelli Center being home to Ohio State men’s volleyball, the venue was filled to the brim with a myriad of green and black reverberating chants in support of the Rainbow Warriors, spearheaded by their band and spirit section.

The Bruins put on a defensive masterclass, sporting 18 block assists and 34 digs. AVCA First Team All-American setter Tread Rosenthal, who at 6-foot-11 leads Hawai‘i’s block – a defensive unit that ranks 12th in the nation in blocks per set – was only able to muster eight block assists. 

Behind the net, AVCA All-American honorable mention and libero ‘Eleu Choy produced just five digs, contributing to a team total of 22 – which was rivaled by UCLA’s 34 total, spearheaded by freshman outside hitter Sean Kelly’s eight digs.

“Sean’s a stud, he dug some balls early in the match and helped turn some points, and I think one of those digs he laid out and it trickled over the top of the net and that was a big point for the set,” said UCLA coach John Hawks. “Sean is such a smart player.”

Notably, Hawai‘i outside hitter/opposite Louis Sakanoko – who was hobbled by an ankle injury in the NCAA quarterfinals against Penn State – started the match but ended up playing as a serving sub as ankle discomfort seemed to sideline his usual prowess, which included 264 kills prior to Saturday.

Taking advantage of his absence, UCLA counterparts and outside hitter tandem redshirt junior Cooper Robinson and Kelly combined for 22 kills on .304 and .435 hitting percentages, respectively.

Junior outside hitter Zach Rama – who has taken over opposite hitter duties for the past several weeks – joined his pin-hitting duo with 10 kills and six digs.

Streamlining the Bruins’ attack was junior setter Andrew Rowan, who put together a performance reminiscent of his 60-assist match against the Rainbow Warriors in the 2023 national championship. On Saturday, Rowan notched an all-around performance, logging 34 assists, six digs and four blocks.

“You get to this point, and every match is a championship match, so you’ve got to play like every one is your last,” Rowan said. “There were some words said at the end, but that’s sports. It gets competitive, it gets chippy, that’s alright. They put up a good fight.”

UCLA will take on No. 1 seed Long Beach State in the NCAA tournament final Monday, where the Bruins face an opportunity for their third consecutive championship and their 22nd in program history. Notably, the Beach defeated the Bruins twice in the regular season, dropping just one set in the combined matches.

But winning the national title is no simple feat, and the Bruins have shown they can hang with the Rainbow Warriors – a team that has defeated the Beach twice in its last seven matches.

“I’m humbled and so proud of these guys, and just looking forward to going out there and representing Bruin country and Bruin nation and all of our alums and make everybody proud,” Hawks said. “We got the fight and some guys I love having on our side of the net.”

Stanford and USC to Clash for NCAA Women’s Water Polo Title

Stanford and USC will meet for the fourth time this season on Sunday, the latest matchup to determine the champion of the NCAA Women’s Water Polo Tournament. Stanford and USC advanced to the final with semifinal victories during Saturday action at the Indiana University Natatorium.

After Stanford dispatched Hawaii, 13-4, USC earned a 15-13 win over defending champion UCLA. Stanford is chasing the 10th NCAA title in program history while USC, seeded third, will seek its seventh national championship. The Cardinal and Trojans have met three times already this season, with Stanford winning two of the meetings.

The title match will be aired live on ESPNU at noon (Eastern) on Sunday.

Semifinals

Stanford 13, Hawaii 4

Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Jenna Flynn went for a career-high six goals as top-seeded Stanford cruised into the championship game. Flynn netted the game’s first five goals and also recorded a pair of assists for the Cardinal (24-1), which is seeking its third NCAA crown in the past four seasons. Ella Woodhead added two goals for Stanford.

Serena Browne, Juliette Dhalluin, Eleanor Facey, Sophia Sanders and Ryann Neushul scored one goal apiece for Stanford, which held a 7-2 advantage at halftime. Goalie Christine Carpenter made six saves for Stanford, the only program to appear in all 24 NCAA Championships since the tournament debuted in 2001.

USC 15, UCLA 13

usc-

A seven-goal outburst in the third quarter put Southern California comfortably ahead and the Trojans withstood a late rally by UCLA to reach its 14th title match. Tilly Kearns led USC with five goals and Rachel Gazzaniga scored three times, while goalie Anna Reed made nine saves. Ava Stryker added two goals and two assists and Maggie Johnson had a goal and two assists.

Emma Lineback accounted for five of the Bruins’ 13 goals and Bia Mantellato had two goals and two assists.

About this Event

HARRISONBURG, Va.– The first podium finish for Marshall Track & Field at the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships came from sophomore Taylor Spencer in the 3K Steeplechase.

The distance runner from Waynesfield, Ohio raced a personal-best time of 10:52.63 to finish third in the event.

The Herd was also led by fellow sophomore Nyah Harrison who set a personal-record time of 54.65 in the 400m Prelims. Harrison qualified for Saturday’s 400m finals with the third-fastest time Friday.

In the field events, the Long Jump saw scorers on both the men’s and women’s side. Graduate senior Addison Painter finished seventh with a 7.48 meter jump. Lara Check also finished seventh as each scored two points for the Herd.  

Marshall’s full results are listed below. For preliminary qualifiers, “Qualified” is listed in all capital letters to represent an automatic qualification berth via a heat win. 

Marshall Results 

Field Events

Long Jump: Men’s: Addison Painter (7th-7.48m – 2 Pts.), Grant Swider (7.18m), Cole Miller (6.94m) Women’s: Lara Check (7th-5.94m – 2 Pts.), Lakesha Smith (5.82m)

Shot Put: Men’s: Anthony Dunbar (14.91m), Perry Patrone (14.29m) Women’s: Markayla Moore (13.70m)

Track Events

100mH/110mH Prelims: Men’s: JaKai Hayes (14.75), Tavon Simmons-Roberts (15.54) Women’s: Alayezia Willaims (14.04), Myah Boze (14.20), Azure Travis (14.39)

800m Prelims: Men’s: Christian Childs (1:57.60), Kazuma Bowring (1:58.24), Luke Goode (2:02.87)

400m Prelims: Men’s: Micah Coates (48.40), Isaiah Harper (48.93), Isaiah Valentine (48.99), Chris Swint (49.97), Wyatt Milhoan (49.97), Ethan Bowens (51.47) Women’s: Nyah Harrison (54.64 qualified), Brynn McKeever (58.21)

100m Prelims: Men’s: Jonathan Owusu (10.57), Joey Bloebaum (10.69), Samari McCord (10.89), Micah Hinton (11.04) Women’s: Bay’Andria Hodges (11.78), Emma Henry (11.79), Lakesha Smith (12.11)

3K Steeplechase Finals: Women’s: Taylor Spencer (3rd-10:52.63 – 6 Pts.), Ellie Hosaflook (11:29.61)

UP NEXT

Day three field events begin at noon with the first event on the track at 4.

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