
Got time? Got ti?
Fans are welcome to come to show pre-match support for No. 2 seed Hawai’i (28-2) prior to Thursday’s NCAA semifinal against Penn State.
The sendoff is set for 4-6 p.m. at the Fairfax Marriott at Fair Oaks.
11787 Lee Jackson Memorial Hwy, Fairfax, VA 22033
Match vs. the Nittany Lions (27-3) is set at 7:30 p.m. EST (1:30 pm. HST) but who knows if it will start on time. The first match between top seed UCLA and Long Beach State is at 5 p.m./11 a.m. Could go long. UH Coach Charlie Wade said he hoped it went 7 sets. Penn State coach Mark Pavlik said it could go 9. Think both coaches hoping that the Bruins-Beach expend a lot of energy trying to make it to Saturday’s final.
I’m not at the team hotel but have heard reports of large numbers of Hawai’i fans staying there. Unintentionally former Wahine volleyball player Brandi Brooks is staying there while she was on a work trip. She was scheduled to return home today to Columbus but has since changed her flight so she can be here to watch the Warriors. She was in Columbus in 2021 also watching Hawai’i win the NCAA title.
Links for today’s match
Radio: 1420-AM/92.7-FM
https://player.listenlive.co/27971
Online stream:
https://www.ncaa.com/sports/volleyball-men/nc
NOTES FROM UH
- UH is appearing in the semifinals for the eighth time in program history with a 5-2 all-time record.
- This year marks UH’s fourth consecutive trip to the semifinals and fifth in the last six tournaments. The last team to make four straight semifinal trips was Long Beach State (2016-19).
- UH’s 28 wins this season is tied for the most in program history along with the 2019 squad.
- UH enters the tournament with a current 11-match win streak.
- UH’s semifinal opponent is Penn State (27-3), champions of the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association.
- UH and Penn State met on the second day of the OUTRIGGER Invitational in March in Honolulu. The Nittany Lions handed the Warriors their first loss of the season in a four-set victory.
- Hawai’i and Penn State have met five times in the NCAA Tournament with UH holding a 3-2 advantage. The first three meetings were in the semifinals with UH winning two of the three match-ups in 1996 and 2002. PSU won the first meeting in 1995. The last two meetings have occurred in the opening rounds with PSU winning in 2015 and UH winning in 2017. All five match-ups have gone at least four sets.
- Setter Jakob Thelle needs one service ace to set a new all-time program career mark. Currently he is tied for the lead with Costas Theocharidis and Pedro Azenha with 121 aces.
- Twenty of UH’s 28 wins this season have come in straight sets.
- UH is 27-1 when winning the first set this season and 76-3 over the last 3+ seasons.
Looks like they will be leaving at a time that won’t allow them to watch the first semifinal, which is good since would not want them to be in any way distracted from their own match at hand. Hope they stay focused and play their game. At the same time I hope the opposite for PSU.
I don’t think it matters if they watch the first semifinal. They are familiar with both teams. Should they win tonight, they’ll have tape from the first semifinal to use to prepare. I wouldn’t worry about focus.