LOS ANGELES >> Has it really been 26 years since Hawaii played for a national men’s volleyball championship in UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion? The only thing that would make this scenario truly deja vu would be if the Rainbow Warriors were playing the host Bruins today as they did in 1996.
But that didn’t happen, courtesy of top-seeded Long Beach State pulling off the reverse sweep in Thursday’s first semifinal against UCLA, 18-25, 18-25, 25-15, 25-10, 16-14. Instead, defending NCAA champion Hawaii (26-5) tries to become the fifth consecutive program to win back-to-back titles facing Big West rival Long Beach State (21-5) in the nationally televised final (2 p.m. on ESPN2).
Much has changed in the past 26 years. The Warriors are staying at the on-campus Luskin Convention Center, where a parking structure once stood, instead of a hotel off Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.
Pauley Pavilion has been renovated and upgraded, adding 15 more rows and nearly 1,000 more seats for a capacity of 13,800.
The latter changes had Warriors coach Charlie Wade looking around the arena after Friday’s practice trying to recall where he was sitting 9,499 days ago. He was the color analyst and Brooks Baehr the play-by-play for the 1420-AM broadcast on May 4, 1996, up on a concourse that doesn’t exist any more.
“I got to Hawaii in 1995 and Brooks asked me to be with him (on the men’s broadcasts in 1996),” said Wade, of taking the job as Dave Shoji’s assistant for Wahine volleyball. “The Stan Sheriff (Center) had just opened and it was so much fun being around that men’s team. It made me say, ‘Man, I really want to do this, to coach volleyball in Hawaii.’
“It’s really fun to be part of something that means so much to so many people.”
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Back in the days of the charismatic Yuval Katz, Aaron Wilton and Co., the Warriors were treated like rock stars, their most well-known groupie being actress Tia Carrere. At Friday’s press conference, several of the Hawaii players were asked which celebrity they’d most like to see at today’s match.
Junior All-America setter Jakob Thelle said actor-pro wrestler Dwayne Johnson, who grew up on Oahu.”That would be fun,” he said.
Sophomore middle Cole Hogland joked that he was going to say Will Smith but thought better of picking the actor who slapped Chris Rock during the Academy Awards in March.
“I think I’ll go with Kevin Hart,” said Hogland, who had six kills, three blocks and two of UH’s 13 aces in Thursday’s 28-26, 19-25, 20-25, 25-20, 15-11 semifinal win over second-seeded Ball State.
It’s anyone’s guess who shows up today. Celebrity sightings in and around the Westwood campus have included former NBA greats Shaquille O’Neal and Bill Walton, the latter who led UCLA to the 1972 and ’73 national basketball championships with a combined record of 60-0.
Today’s real show will take place on the volleyball court between the two programs that have won the past three NCAA titles, the Beach in 2018 and ’19, the Warriors in 2021. (There was no tournament in 2020 because of the COVID-19 cancellation of collegiate sports).
It’s a neutral court, but Long Beach State likely will have more fans than Hawaii simply because of geography.
“It’s a lot easier to drive up the (I-) 405 freeway than to fly across the Pacific Ocean,” Wade said, noting that the LBSU campus is 34 miles away.
One thing that Hawaii and its fans will continue to do is sing “Hawaii Pono’i” before the start of the match. It happened here in 1996 and it’s been the tradition at home, along with the U.S. national anthem, and on the road after player introductions.
The Hawaii players often have credited their crowd for the “mana” (spirit, energy) that they feed off of. It helped the Warriors sweep the Beach in the Big West championship at the Stan Sheriff Center on April 23, Hawaii’s first win over Long Beach State this season after losing two 3-1 regular conference matches at The Pyramid.
“We know Hawaii brings a lot fans wherever they go,” Long Beach State sophomore libero Mason Briggs said. “But we’re just down the road and hopefully LB Nation will show up like they did (Thursday).”
One former member of Hawaii’s 1996 team had hoped to be in the crowd Saturday, but a family emergency will have Erik Pichel watching on television. He recalled his emotions of playing in the finals.
“Emotionally, it was a combination of everything — humbling, nerve-racking and exciting all at the same time,” the former UH setter said. “You want to win so bad for the legacy of the program, the fans and supporters and, of course, for all the hard work you put in.
“It can be a challenge to control the emotions, knowing you have one chance to win it all.”
Former middle blocker Sivan Leoni, who lives in Kailua, added via text, “I just hope that the boys get the same amount of fans we had in ’96 at the final. I think that even though the game was at UCLA and against UCLA, we had more fans than the opponent.
“Our 1995, ’96 years were history for UH going to the final four 2 years in a row. Let this year be a NEW and better history of WINNING a championship two years in a row.”
If Hawaii were to accomplish that, it would add to the recent history where the previous four champions won two in row: UC Irvine (2012-13), Loyola Chicago (2014-15), Ohio State (2016-17) and Long Beach State (2018-19). The Warriors are in their third consecutive championship match, something that hasn’t been done since UCLA did so four years in a row (1993-96).
“Our team is pretty comfortable playing in big moments,” Wade said. “We’ve been playing in front of big crowds and big moments for a while now.
“Now you either put the hay in the barn or you don’t, meaning you’ve got to do the work in the offseason to be ready to play in this moment. You either put the hay in the barn or you will be in for a long, cold, hungry winter.”
