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LOS ANGELES >> Has it really been 26 years since Hawaii last played for a men’s volleyball national championship at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion? The only thing that would make this scenario truly deja vu would be if the Rainbow Warriors played the host Bruins today like they did in 1996.
But that didn’t happen, thanks to top-seeded Long Beach State hitting 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) is trying to become the fifth straight program to win back-to-back titles against Big West rival Long Beach State (21-5) in of the nationally televised finale (2 p.m. on ESPN2).
A lot has changed in the past 26 years. The Warriors are staying at the Luskin Convention Center on campus, where a parking lot once was, instead of a hotel on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.
The Pauley Pavilion has been renovated and modernized, adding 15 more rows and almost 1,000 additional seats for a capacity of 13,800.
These latest changes have Warriors coach Charlie Wade looking around the arena after Friday’s practice, trying to remember where he sat 9,499 days ago. He was the color analyst and Brooks Baehr the play-by-play for the 2:20 p.m. show on May 4, 1996, in a lobby that no longer exists.
“I came to Hawaii in 1995 and Brooks asked me to be with him (on the men’s show in 1996),” said Wade, who took over as Dave Shoji’s assistant for Wahine volleyball. “The Stan Sheriff (Centre) had just opened and it was so fun to be around this men’s team. It made me say, “Man, I really want to do this, 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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In the days of the charismatic Yuval Katz, Aaron Wilton and Co., the Warriors were treated like rock stars, their best-known groupie being actress Tia Carrere. During Friday’s press conference, several Hawaii players were asked which celebrity they would most like to see in today’s game.
Junior All-America passer Jakob Thelle told professional actor-wrestler Dwayne Johnson, who grew up on Oahu. “That would be fun,” he said.
Middle sophomore Cole Hogland joked he was going to say Will Smith but thought better of choosing the actor who slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars 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 semifinal 28-26, 19-25, 20- 25, 25-20, 15-11. win over second-seeded Ball State.
It’s someone who guesses who is showing up today. Celebrity sightings in and around the Westwood campus have included former NBA greats Shaquille O’Neal and Bill Walton, the latter of whom led UCLA to the 1972 and 1973 national basketball championships with a combined record of 60-0.
The real show today will be on the volleyball court between the two programs that have won the last three NCAA titles, the Beach in 2018 and ’19, the Warriors in 2021. (There is no tournament in 2020 due to the COVID-19 cancellation of collegiate sports).
It’s neutral ground, but Long Beach State will likely have more fans than Hawaii simply because of geography.
“It’s much easier to drive on (I-)405 freeway than to fly across the Pacific Ocean,” Wade said, noting that the LBSU campus is 34 miles away.
One thing Hawaii and its fans will continue to do is sing “Hawaii Pono’i” before the game starts. It happened here in 1996 and it’s tradition at home, with the American national anthem, and on the road after player introductions.
Hawaii players have often credited their crowd with the “mana” (spirit, energy) they feed off of. It helped the Warriors sweep the beach in the Big West Championship at Stan Sheriff Center on April 23, Hawaii’s first win over Long Beach State this season after losing two regular conference games 3-1 at The Pyramid.
“We know Hawaii brings a lot of fans everywhere they go,” said Long Beach State’s second-year Libero Mason Briggs. “But we’re just on the road and hopefully LB Nation performs like they did (Thursday).”
A former member of the 1996 Hawaii team had hoped to be in the crowd on Saturday, but a family emergency will force Erik Pichel to watch on television. He recalled his emotions from playing in the final.
“Emotionally, it was a combination of everything – humbling, unnerving and exciting all at the same time,” said the former UH passer. “You want to win so badly for the legacy of the program, the fans and the supporters and of course for all the hard work you put in.
“It can be a challenge to control the emotions, knowing that you have a chance to win it all.”
Former central tackle Sivan Leoni, who lives in Kailua, added via text: “I just hope the boys have the same number of fans we had in 1996 in the final. I think even if the game was at UCLA and against UCLA, we had more fans than the opponent.
“Our 1995, 96 was history for UH going to the last four 2 years in a row. May this year be a NEW and better story of WINNING a championship two years in a row.
If Hawaii were to accomplish this, it would add to recent history where the four previous champions have won two in a 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 game, which has not been done since UCLA did it four years in a row (1993-96).
“Our team is pretty comfortable playing in the big moments,” Wade said. “We’ve been playing in front of big crowds and big times for a while now.
“Now you either put the hay in the barn or you don’t, which means you have to do the work in the offseason to be ready to play right now. Either put the hay in the barn or you’ll have a long, cold, hungry winter.
