The University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team will open the NCAA Championship tournament with a quarterfinal round match against Penn State, Thursday, May 8 at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio. The second-seeded Rainbow Warriors (26-5) and seventh-seeded Nittany Lions (15-15) will meet for the seventh time in the national tournament.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE:
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals, Thursday, May 8
No. 3 seed UCLA vs. No. 6 seed Belmont Abbey, 11:00 a.m. ET
No. 2 seed Hawai’i vs. No. 7 seed Penn State, 1:30 p.m. ET
No. 1 seed Long Beach State vs. No. 8 seed Fort Valley State, 5:00 p.m. ET
No. 4 seed Loyola Chicago vs. No. 5 seed Pepperdine, 7:30 p.m. ET
NCAA Tournament Semifinals, Saturday, May 10
Semifinal #1, 5:00 p.m. ET
Semifinal #2, 8:00 p.m. ET
NCAA Tournament Finals, Monday, May 12
Championship, 7:00 p.m. ET
| MATCH #32 – NCAA NC Men’s Volleyball Championship | ||||
| Who | Quarterfinal – No. 2 seed Hawai’i (26-5) vs. No. 7 seed Penn State (15-15) | |||
| Date | Time | Thursday, May 8 | 1:30 p.m. ET (7:30 a.m. HT) | |||
| Location | Columbus, Ohio – Covelli Center | |||
| Television | None | |||
| Live Stream | ESPN+ | |||
| Radio | ESPN Honolulu (1420AM/92.7FM). Tiff Wells (play-by-play) | |||
| Streaming Audio | ESPNHonolulu.com; Sideline Hawaii app | |||
| Live Stats | HawaiiAthletics.com | |||
| Game Notes | Hawai’i | |||
| Digital Program | Click Here | |||
| Social Media | @HawaiiMensVB | #HawaiiMVB #WarriorBall25 | @HawaiiMVB  | Facebook  |
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SERIES HISTORY
Overall: UH leads 18-10
In Honolulu: UH leads 14-8
In University Park: UH leads 1-0
Neutral: UH leads 3-2
Postseason: UH leads 4-2
Last Meeting: 3/14/25, UH 3-0
Streak: UH 2
MATCH NOTES
- Hawai’i (26-5) returns to the NCAA Championship after missing the tournament last season, which ended a run of four straight appearances.
- UH is making its 10th all-time NCAA Championship appearance with an 11-7 mark and two national championships (2021 & ’22).
- UH has a 2-1 all-time record in the opening rounds of the tournament.
- Head coach Charlie Wade has led UH to seven NCAA appearances in 16 seasons—all since 2015—with an 8-4 record.
- UH made two previous trips to Columbus, Ohio for the NCAA Championship in 2017 (advanced to semifinals) and 2021 (won title).
- Hawai’i and Penn State have met six times in the NCAA Championship with UH holding a 4-2 advantage. The teams met in the opening rounds twice (2015, ’17) and in the semifinals four times (1995, ’96, 2002, ’23). Three of the six meetings went to five sets.
- UH’s six meetings against Penn State is the most against a single opponent at the NCAA Championship (twice each vs. UCLA, Ball State, and Long Beach State).
- UH is the No. 2 seed in the tournament for the second consecutive time. In 2023, Hawai’i advanced to the title match against No. 1 seed UCLA and lost in four sets.
- A UH victory would mark its ninth trip to the semifinals.
- Hawai’i leads the all-time series, 18-10 including a 3-2 advantage at neutral sites.
- UH and Penn State met on the second day of the OUTRIGGER Invitational in March in Honolulu with the Rainbow Warriors winning in straight sets.
- The Nittany Lions (15-15) advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals after defeating Daemen in straight sets last Friday in an opening round match in Amherst, N.Y.
- Penn State received the EIVA’s automatic bid to the tournament by virtue of a straight-set win over Princeton in the championship match to claim its 37th all-time conference title and 26th under head coach Mark Pavlik.
#HawaiiMVB
