Since breaking off from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in 2018, the six-team Big West Conference has been viewed as one of the toughest in collegiate men's volleyball from the very beginning.
That sentiment is no different in 2026, as all six teams in the conference are ranked in the AVCA national collegiate poll.
With two full weekends remaining, the University of Hawai‘i men's volleyball team has a chance to rise from the gauntlet and win the Big West regular season title as soon as Friday. The Rainbow Warriors are currently 23-3 overall and 6-0 in conference play with series sweeps over Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine.
Conference play for the 'Bows continues with matches at UC San Diego on Friday and Saturday, with first serve beginning at 4 p.m. HST for each contest.
If UH were to win both matches, they would automatically clinch the Big West regular season title and top seed in the conference tournament regardless of what happens in its final home series of the year against CSUN on April 17-18. By virtue of their victories over Long Beach State (18-4, 4-2 Big West) and UC Santa Barbara (13-9, 4-3), the two teams beneath them in the conference standings, Hawai‘i has already clinched the tiebreaker over both squads.
"It's not a place where you really go and think about but I like 6-0 better than 0-6 for sure," Hawai‘i head coach Charlie Wade said when asked about the team's favorable position in the standings. "We've been pretty consistent. There's been some peaks and valleys, but at the end, before the night's over, we've found a way to win. And that part, we've been consistent."
UH's road series at UC San Diego will serve as the second consecutive week the 'Bows have been on the road. After its most recent series against UC Irvine ended last Saturday, the UH returned home to O‘ahu, with Wade placing value in his players sleeping in their own beds and attending classes in person during the first half of the week.
Another trek to Southern California means another opportunity for the program's Mainland fans to support the 'Bows, which Wade says has come in bunches.
"It really is pretty special. I wouldn't say we expect it, we're really appreciative of everybody coming out, more so on the West Coast, but even when we get all the way to the East Coast and different places, there's a lot of lot of people wearing green in those crowds," Wade said. "And it's pretty awesome."
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
