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IRVINE, Calif. — With a thrilling five-setter in The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2026 Outrigger Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship, second-seeded and third-ranked Long Beach State settled the postseason score with a 3-2 victory against regular-season champion Hawai’i on Saturday night from the Bren Events Center.  

LBSU (24-4) now earns The Big West’s automatic berth into the expanded 12-team bracket of the 2026 National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship. The Beach – and all The Big West squads vying for entry into the field – will learn their seeds, destinations or potential hosting assignments in the regional format, announced Sunday at 1 p.m., on ncaa.com.  

The five-set Championship match was just the second full complement finale since The Big West began sponsoring the event, with the 2019 final, also extending to five. Long Beach State’s title is their third (2018, ’24), and a first under the direction of Nick MacRae in his first season at the helm and 14th overall for the Beach.  

The hotly-contested match featured 44 ties and 12 lead changes throughout the night, with a rowdy crowd of 3,501 fans. The first frame saw the Beach open the night with the early 4-1 advance after back-to-back strikes for Championship Most Valuable Player Wojcieck Gajek. Three straight for UH with Adrien Roure back at the service line gave the Rainbow Warriors the one-point advantage and a see-saw battle ensued with ties at points six through 10.  

Hawai’i led 17-15 after Kristian Titriyski found the cross-court strike and the triple block with Ofeck Hazan, Tread Rosenthal and Roure put the ’Bows up 20-17. Titriyski iced the set with a sixth kill of the frame, hitting .556 for in the first.  

In a tightly contested second set, Long Beach State needed extra points to even the match score. Senior Skyler Varga and Gajek were instrumental in keeping the score close to counter an early push from UH with Jake Pazanti facilitating the offense to hit .351 in the set. UH led 16-14 after Louis Sakanoko’s kill after the long rally found the mark, but an ace for Gajek was too hot to handle two points later to knot the score at 16 apiece. The battle continued to stay close for the remainder with both sides holding late leads. Ben Braun’s strike closed the set at 27-25 to guarantee a fourth frame.  

LBSU built an early edge in the third period with a series of service aces, highlighted by Gajek's two aces, to lead 9-4. UH responded with force including a decisive 6-1 run to close the period. The Beach held the to secure the 25-22 victory. Highlights included a block at 23-22 as Hazan and Roure combining for the denial and an ace off the hands of Rosenthal for the final point.  

In the fourth period, LBSU and UH continued the joust, with a marathon 30-28 set with another 12 ties and three lead changes with the Beach gaining crucial momentum. Hawai’i had the first chance to close out the set after Sakanoko’s kill made the score 24-23, but Gajek responded with the point. UH again had a second shot at set point, again after a Sakanoko strike with a Gajek response. The next exchange was between Roure and Gajek and then Roure and Jackson Cryst to knot it at 27 apiece. After a tie at 28, Cryst went back to serve and ripped off consecutive aces to get the Beach the victory and 15 points away from the title.  

The fifth frame was all Beach to open, racing out to a 12-5 lead to overwhelm UH, putting the ’Bows on their heels. Hawai’i didn’t give up to the final point, staving off three match points and to make it 14-11 after Rosenthal and Hazan denied an attack from Pazanti before Gajek capped the night with the the final strike to close with a game-high 27 kills on .489 hitting.  

Varga added 16 kills with nine digs and six total blocks with Cryst adding a game-best tying nine blocks with eight kills. Pazanti dished out 52 assists with 10 digs for the double-double in the win.  

For UH, Titriyski’s 20 kills led with way with Sakanoko (17) and Roure (15) reaching double figures. Hawai’i’s Ofeck matched Cryst’s block tally with nine, including two solos on the night. Rosenthal finished with a match-high 54 assists.