Hawaii faces UC Irvine in all-Big West Conference NCAA Championship showdown

LOS ANGELES — The Hawaii men’s volleyball team needed to overcome its most heated Big West rivalry to advance to the national final.

Now the ’Bows need to take care of a more friendly, yet still extremely tough, conference rival to finish off a third national championship this decade.

The second-seeded and Big West runner-up ’Bows (29-5) will face the third-best team from their conference this season, UC Irvine (21-8), at 1 p.m. today for the right to host the national championship trophy at Pauley Pavilion.

UH, which is officially recognized as a two-time national champion in 2021 and ’22 after having its ’03 title vacated, is in the final for the fifth time in the last seven seasons.

UC Irvine has won four national titles, including its last in 2013, when current head coach David Kniffin took over for Jon Spreraw.

The relationship between Kniffin and Hawaii head coach Charlie Wade dates back to well before Kniffin was put in charge of the Anteaters program.

“He was our interpreter when we went to Argentina back in 2007 when I was the coach of Pacific on the women’s side,” Wade said during Sunday’s NCAA press conference. “We talk pretty regularly throughout the season and obviously they are one of the top teams. Every time we’re battling, they’re not quite the same level that we have been with Long Beach, but certainly some highly contested matches and always competitive.”

The ’Bows, who beat UC Irvine in both regular-season matches in conference play, are in the final after knocking off Long Beach State in four sets on Saturday.

A rowdy crowd witnessed the Rainbow Warriors, who clearly were extra motivated after LBSU freshman Wojciech Gajek did a shakas down gesture during the Beach’s win over the ’Bows in the Big West tournament final, beat Long Beach for the third time this season.

The motivation to win remains the same, but it comes from a different place than from what UH called “personal” in defending the culture of its own home state.

“I’d say there is definitely a little difference in (the rivalries),” Hawaii sophomore opposite hitter Kainoa Wade said Sunday. “Irvine is a little on the nicer side. Long Beach State rattled some cages the last time we played them. Obviously it doesn’t matter who we are playing on the other side of the court, we’re going to give it our all all the time. It doesn’t matter if it’s shakas up or shakas down, it’s go time.”

Hawaii’s appearance in the national final shouldn’t be a surprise. It has advanced to the championship match each of the last three times the tournament has been held in Los Angeles and is one victory away from a setting a program record with its first 30-win season.

The Anteaters, who lost to the Beach in three sets in the Big West semifinals, is a surprise. UCI pulled off five-set wins over Penn State and No. 1 seed and host UCLA last week in Pauley Pavilion. They the Anteaters defeated No. 4 seed Ball State in four sets on Saturday to give them consecutive victories over champions from the EIVA, MPSF and MIVA conferences.