We so needed this.

After all the sadness and madness of the pandemic, after all the uncertainties that turned life into what felt like a volleyball match itself and us becoming the volleyball that went back and forth across the net, finally this. A national championship for, not just the University of Hawaii, but the state of Hawaii.

Even 12 days later, the catharsis that the victory by the Warriors over Brigham Young brought is still being felt. It is still being called upon in moments of darkness, including the tragic death of former Warrior quarterback Colt Brennan only three days after that dominating performance in Columbus, Ohio.

The harsh reminder of the fragility of life needed the counterbalance of the joy that sports can bring. It manifested in the outpouring of tributes to Brennan and that magical football season of 2007, where the memories focused on the good and the statewide euphoria that accompanied the success.

There is a weight that University of Hawaii teams carry, particularly when it happens on the national stage, a weight that is not toted by other college teams. There is this immense pride in representing an entire state but also the burden of doing so when not wanting to let so many people down.

The question came up in many of the media Zoom calls with the Warrior volleyball team during the NCAA tournament. “How much pressure is there when knowing a whole state is watching?”

There was this resolve that was different from most other teams I have covered for some 40 years. This #WarriorBall21 group was very reminiscent of the 1987 Rainbow Wahine team that won the NCAA championship, a group of seniors that started their careers as freshmen in 1984, chasing the legacy of the two-time winners of 1982-83 that went a combined 67-3.

One question posed to me during a national roundtable online discussion hosted by OffTheBlockblog.com during this month’s tournament: “Was there even more pressure on the men given that the Wahine didn’t have a season?”

Really good question. As I told the other panelists, “Hawaii loves volleyball. People love (UH) men’s volleyball. But they adore the Wahine.”

To me, if there was extra pressure on the men, it was the residual of falling short in 2019. Christine Worsley, who had two sons on that team in senior setter Joe and sophomore libero Gage, said the disappointment was in not bringing home the championship to and for Hawaii.

In many ways, having that gap of two years between being at Long Beach State and being at Ohio State had an unintended benefit. The collective memory of losing to The Beach wasn’t as fresh to feel the cut, but fresh enough to see the scar and learn.

Tournament MVP Rado Parapunov addressed that in the post-match interview on May 8, saying the 2019 team may have been too emotional and that those emotions supplanted the focus that was needed. There was a reason that the 2021 team’s hashtag was #UnfinishedBusiness; for all but one night, the 17-1 Warriors were business-like in their performances while also enjoying the ride they saw as a gift.

It was an NCAA men’s volleyball tournament unlike any other, with COVID restrictions on attendance, all interviews done by Zoom, no All-America banquet. Unfortunately, it was all too similar in the NCAA’s treatment of the sport, one that has had a national championship since 1970.

It took pressure on the organization before it agreed to stream the first three matches instead of being dark on May 3 and 4. There was also only live streaming of the semifinals before the tournament finally got on TV, and only for the final.

Conversely, the NCAA beach volleyball championship tournament had live national TV coverage of every match May 7 through May 9. This for a sport that has only existed at the collegiate level since 2012 (AVCA) and only sanctioned by the NCAA since 2016.

Did we mention the disparity on the NCAA Twitter account? The three opening-opening matches were played before the NCAA’s first tweet came … and it was about buying the NCAA championship apparel. No mention of the results, which was not a surprise since their logo for the tournament didn’t acknowledge that there were matches before the May 6 semifinals.

@NCAAVolleyball tweeted over 60 times on the first day of the beach championship.

It was disappointing to see the UH news release touting the “first” title for the men’s program. It was not the first, that came in 2002. Yes, the title was vacated because of the NCAA ruling that declared one of the Warriors ineligible because he played with professionals but did not receive money.

What I’ve never understood was why it is OK for collegiate golfers to play in a Pro-Am — emphasis on Pro — and not be declared ineligible. Even the ESPNU broadcasters said, “It was a silly asterisk” when pointing out the vacated title, adding “We all know who won.”

I hope UH again will appeal that decision because, given how the NCAA rule has changed, that banner should be back up in the Sheriff Center rafters. I happened to be walking through the arena when manager Rich Sheriff was up on the catwalk and unhooked the banner, it falling unceremoniously to the ground, with Sheriff then storing away.

Here’s hoping there will be two up there when the men open the 2022 season.

It will be another “we needed this” moment.