Saturday, May 10
5 pm PT (8 pm ET)
UCLA
22-6,10-2MPSF
3
vs
0
#2 Hawaii
27-6,7-3Big West
1
2
3
F
UCLA
25
25
25
3
Hawaii
14
23
23
0
Photo by: Eric Hurd
Men's Volleyball Sweeps Hawai'i, Advances to NCAA Title Match
May 10, 2025 | Men's Volleyball
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 3 UCLA men's volleyball program took down No. 2 Hawai'i in straight sets, 3-0, in the semifinal round of the NCAA Championships at the Covelli Center on the campus of Ohio State University. Set scores on Saturday evening were 25-14, 25-23, 25-23.
With the win, the Bruins advance to their third national championship in the past three seasons. UCLA will take on the No. 1 seed Long Beach State in a rematch of the 2024 final, which the Bruins won in Long Beach, 3-1.
The Bruins hit .370 while limiting Hawai'i to a season-low .188 hitting percentage. Sean Kelly led the Bruins with 13 kills on 23 swings, while Zach Rama added another 10 for the Bruins. Andrew Rowan added 34 assists to dictate the Bruins offense, and defensively Sean McQuiggan recorded seven blocks.
The Bruins stormed out to a 10-4 lead in the opening set, and rattled off six straight points to take to silence the crowd. During that run Cooper Robinson provided two service aces and a couple of kills.
UCLA extended its lead to 17-8 later in the set as the Bruins continued to pile pressure on the Rainbow Warriors from the service line and the back line.
Later on in the set, the Bruins went up 23-13 courtesy of Rama from the back row before the Bruins took the first set 25-14 when Rama slammed home his fourth kill of the set to clinch it for the Bruins
As for the second set, Hawai'i opened up an 8-6 advantage before the Bruins rallied back.
A triple block put the Bruins up 13-10 in the set, forcing the Rainbow Warriors to take a timeout. Hawai'i wasn't done though and battled back to make it 17-17 with Finn Kearney tallying a kill.
The Bruins and Rainbow Warriors went blow for blow for the remainder of the set, as neither team took more than a two-point advantage.
Hawai'i went up 23-22 before McQuiggan hammered home a kill from the middle, making it 23 all. Sean Kelly then tallied his sixth kill of the match to put the Bruins up 24-23 before an attack error by the Rainbow Warriors gave the Bruins a 25-23 set two win, and a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the third set, the Bruins took a 7-3 early lead as Kelly continued his strong night with another kill. Rowan and Robinson then recorded back-to-back kills to put the Bruins up 12-6, forcing Hawai'i to call another timeout.
Two huge solo blocks by McQuiggan then extended UCLA's lead to 20-15, but Hawai'i roared back after that. The Rainbow Warriors closed the gap to 22-21 in favor of the Bruins, forcing John Hawks to use a timeout.
The Bruins then took a 24-22 lead courtesy of an attack error from the Rainbow Warriors before Rowan set up Robinson for his ninth kill of the match to clinch the set and the match for the Bruins, 25-22.
Up Next: UCLA will face the No. 1 seed Long Beach State in the NCAA Championship match on Monday, May 12 at 4 pm PT (7 pm ET). The match will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
With the win, the Bruins advance to their third national championship in the past three seasons. UCLA will take on the No. 1 seed Long Beach State in a rematch of the 2024 final, which the Bruins won in Long Beach, 3-1.
The Bruins hit .370 while limiting Hawai'i to a season-low .188 hitting percentage. Sean Kelly led the Bruins with 13 kills on 23 swings, while Zach Rama added another 10 for the Bruins. Andrew Rowan added 34 assists to dictate the Bruins offense, and defensively Sean McQuiggan recorded seven blocks.
The Bruins stormed out to a 10-4 lead in the opening set, and rattled off six straight points to take to silence the crowd. During that run Cooper Robinson provided two service aces and a couple of kills.
UCLA extended its lead to 17-8 later in the set as the Bruins continued to pile pressure on the Rainbow Warriors from the service line and the back line.
Later on in the set, the Bruins went up 23-13 courtesy of Rama from the back row before the Bruins took the first set 25-14 when Rama slammed home his fourth kill of the set to clinch it for the Bruins
As for the second set, Hawai'i opened up an 8-6 advantage before the Bruins rallied back.
A triple block put the Bruins up 13-10 in the set, forcing the Rainbow Warriors to take a timeout. Hawai'i wasn't done though and battled back to make it 17-17 with Finn Kearney tallying a kill.
The Bruins and Rainbow Warriors went blow for blow for the remainder of the set, as neither team took more than a two-point advantage.
Hawai'i went up 23-22 before McQuiggan hammered home a kill from the middle, making it 23 all. Sean Kelly then tallied his sixth kill of the match to put the Bruins up 24-23 before an attack error by the Rainbow Warriors gave the Bruins a 25-23 set two win, and a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the third set, the Bruins took a 7-3 early lead as Kelly continued his strong night with another kill. Rowan and Robinson then recorded back-to-back kills to put the Bruins up 12-6, forcing Hawai'i to call another timeout.
Two huge solo blocks by McQuiggan then extended UCLA's lead to 20-15, but Hawai'i roared back after that. The Rainbow Warriors closed the gap to 22-21 in favor of the Bruins, forcing John Hawks to use a timeout.
The Bruins then took a 24-22 lead courtesy of an attack error from the Rainbow Warriors before Rowan set up Robinson for his ninth kill of the match to clinch the set and the match for the Bruins, 25-22.
Up Next: UCLA will face the No. 1 seed Long Beach State in the NCAA Championship match on Monday, May 12 at 4 pm PT (7 pm ET). The match will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
Team Stats
UCLA
Hawaii
Kills
40
30
Errors
10
14
Attempts
81
85
Hitting %
.370
.188
Points
57.0
37.0
Assists
37
26
Aces
6
3
Blocks
11
4
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
3
Blocks
3
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballS
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