No. 1 seed Hawai'i 3, No. 5 seed UC San Diego 1

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IRVINE, Calif. — Regular-season champion Hawai'i avenged their only loss in league play, besting No. 5 seed UC San Diego 3-1 in the semifinal round of The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2026 Outrigger Big West Men's Volleyball Championship.

With the win, the Rainbow Warriors advance to compete for consecutive Big West Championship titles and a fifth overall (2019, '22, '23, '25). UH (27-4) will take on the winner between No. 2 seed Long Beach State and third-seeded Championship host UC Irvine on Saturday at 5 o'clock on ESPN+ and SpectrumSports on O'ahu.

The match began with UC San Diego taking an early lead, capitalizing on a block by Jim Garrison and Cameron Wurl against Louis Sakanoko. The teams exchanged points with Tread Rosenthal assisting Sakanoko and Kristian Titriyski for key kills. Midway through, UH gained momentum with a service ace from Titriyski, bringing the score to 16-16. A series of kills, including contributions from Ofeck Hazan and Trevell Jordan, pushed the 'Bows ahead. The Hawai'i defense was pivotal, with Jordan and Rosenthal contributing crucial blocks, particularly during the final points that sealed the frame. The set concluded with the Rainbow Warriors securing a 25-19 victory, capped by Hazan's service ace.

UCSD secured the second set with a decisive 25-19 win, executing in key moments with consistent offensive output, where the Tritons hit .379 in the frame. Sebastiano Sani was instrumental, contributing multiple kills and benefiting from precise sets by Wurl, which aided in maintaining the lead. Hawai'i battled back with a service ace from Rosenthal and a combo block by Jordan and Adrian Roure to narrow the gap to 23-19 late in the action, but UCSD's Garrison pounded the final point after a UH serving error to knot the score at one set apiece.

The third went to the 'Bows 25-20, with a key sequence seeing UH pull ahead 13-9 with Titriyski on the service line and five straight points. The lead grew to seven after Jordan and Sakanoko combined for the block and the deficit proved to much to overcome in the frame.

Hawai'i was able to close out the match with a fourth set where they hit .421 (10-2-19) while holding UC San Diego to -.148 building momentum with each point to claim the decisive 25-13 win, sealed with Sakanoko's 12th kill of the night. 

The Big West's leading setter, Rosenthal tallied 39 helpers with seven digs with Sakanoko's 12 kills leading the squad. Roure added 10 kills with a team-best five blocks for the 'Bows. 

The Tritons' offense was powered by 12 kills for Sani to go along with five blocks as the team combined to outblock UH 15 to 11.5. Josh Ewert added 10 kills and five digs. Leo Weimelt and Garrison both recorded a match-high seven total blocks in the match. UC San Diego caps the season at 13-14, making consecutive Big West semifinal appearances for the first time.