After being left out of the NCAA Tournament in 2024, the University of Hawai‘i men's volleyball team made sure to leave nothing to chance in 2025.
Heading into the Big West Tournament, the Rainbow Warriors boasted both an RPI and national ranking of 3. With a semifinal matchup against No. 4 UC Irvine, the window was open for the Anteaters to steal a potential at-large bid.
Hawai‘i never had to play the guessing game, defeating UC Irvine on Friday night and No. 1 Long Beach State in the championship match on Saturday, completing both victories in four sets.
The Rainbow Warriors (26-5) were named the No. 2 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament in Columbus, Ohio, and will play in the quarterfinals on May 8. UH will await the winner of the play-in game between Daemen and Penn State on May 2. Meanwhile, Long Beach State's resume at 27-3 was still enough to earn the top seed in the eyes of the NCAA selection committee.
A total of 7,074 fans passed the Stan Sheriff Center turnstiles on Friday night, followed by 8,540 raucous fans on Saturday night. For freshman Adrien Roure, just a small fraction of that made the difference, as family and friends from his native France flew to the Islands to watch him play.
"My family, some friends, flew out to Hawai‘i, so I've been around them all week," Roure said after registering 18 kills on Friday. "So, it really helped me free my mind. And it's been like a year you didn't see them. So obviously, for me, I feel great. Just glad to see them. And I wanted to show them how I play here."
Roure added 11 kills to his weekend total on Saturday night and was named the Big West Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
“The first thing they told me is I’m lucky to have them because every time they come see me, I win," Roure said of his family members.
Quipped head coach Charlie Wade: "Are they going to Ohio?"
Wade led the Rainbow Warriors to his seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in his 16 years at the helm. On Friday night, he clinched career win No. 317, passing Mike Wilton as the program's all-time wins leader.
"I'm humbled to have the opportunity to represent this university, to represent the state, and to coach these young men," Wade said following Friday's win. "University of Hawai‘i volleyball has been iconic in the sport forever. That's why I came here 30 years ago (as an assistant coach on the women's team), and I'm fortunate enough to lead this program, and I think when it's all said and done, I'll look back at the numbers."
Wade, 61, was as animated as any of his players when collecting the Big West championship trophy on Saturday night.
The night was short for the Rainbow Warriors. Less than 12 hours after taking down Long Beach State on Saturday night, the Rainbow Warriors were back in the arena to gather as a team for the NCAA selection show. If Hawai‘i were to win on May 8, its next match would be in the national semifinals against either No. 3 UCLA or No. 6 Belmont Abbey on May 10. The championship match is set for May 12.
Prior to missing the NCAA Tournament in 2024, the Rainbow Warriors previously made four consecutive NCAA championship matches, winning national titles in 2021 and 2022. With a roster chock-full of underclassmen in 2025, the Rainbow Warriors carry a different nucleus than the last time they were in the NCAA Tournament, but have the same national championship aspirations.
"We said it from the beginning: We think we have a chance to not only be a really good team, but to be the best team at the end," Wade said on Sunday. "We're playing our best volleyball here at the end, we look at the progress the guys like Louis (Sakanoko) and Adrien have made receiving and from the service line, it's impressive, and glad to see it here at the end of the year."
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
