IRVINE, Calif. — With five match points in the fourth set, the top-seeded Hawaii men’s volleyball team had its fingertips on a fifth Big West championship trophy.
Defending national champion Long Beach State refused to let the Rainbow Warriors get their full hands on it, rallying in incredible fashion to pull off a 20-25, 27-25, 22-25, 30-28, 15-11 stunner in the final of the Outrigger Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship on Saturday night at Bren Events Center.
Freshman Jackson Cryst, the only middle blocker to make the All-Big West first team, ended the fourth set with back-to-back aces, setting the stage for another freshman to take over.
Opposite Wojciech Gajek, from Katowice, Poland, hit .489 and put down his match-high 27th kill on LBSU’s fourth championship point to give the Beach (24-4) their third Big West crown and the automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
“They had a game,” Hawaii junior setter Tread Rosenthal said. “Wojciech hit (almost) .500, saved them in that fourth set. Sometimes that stuff just happens.”
Gajek, who was named the tournament Most Valuable Player, had five kills in the fifth set after helping Long Beach State, with no room left for error, survive in the fourth.
Gajek had four kills on UH’s five match points to keep the fourth set going.
Cryst, who is one of four Long Beach players in the top five in the Big West in service aces per set, had five service errors before going back-to-back before and after a UH timeout to send the game to a fifth.
“We were down in the fourth and then up in the fourth and then it was back and forth and I give (Long Beach State) a lot of credit,” Hawaii coach Charlie Wade said. “The opposite made some really big swings.”
Both teams scored 114 points and recorded 65 kills in the match. Hawaii had one more hitting error in 13 more swings and hit .286 to .321 by the Beach.
They both totaled seven aces and the Beach had one more service error (20) than Hawaii (19).
“The difference was earlier in that (fourth) set we had some balls back on our side and didn’t transition score and couldn’t pull away,” Wade said. “Again, gotta give credit to (Long Beach). They played well throughout and jumped out to lead there in the fifth.”
Hawaii never led in the fifth set and allowed the Beach to build an 8-3 lead with the help of three hitting errors.
Louis Sakanoko, who finished with 17 kills and hit .353, got UH within 13-8 with an ace, but then made his sixth serving error out of a Long Beach timeout for match point. Trevell Jordan and Kristian Titriyski had kills to keep the match going and Rosenthal and Ofeck Hazan teamed up for a double block before Gajek ended it following LBSU’s second timeout.
“Wojciech was feasting no matter where the set was. He made our setters look amazing even if the set was 5 feet off,” Long Beach State coach Nick MacRae said. “When you go a fifth set, at that time, it’s a game of momentum. We got out on them early, we held the advantage and they were unable to come back.”
Titriyski tied a season high with 20 kills to lead UH and was one of three players to record a team-best seven digs.
Adrien Roure added 15 kills and two aces but was held to a .175 hitting percentage.
Hazan started in place of an injured Justin Todd, who was in a boot and on crutches, and set a career high with nine blocks and had six kills without an error.
“Ofeck is the consummate professional,” Wade said. “He’s a guy that is always ready to call when called upon. He just battles. He’s mature. He’s responsible and we’re thrilled he’s on our team.”
The Rainbow Warriors closed out the first set on a 5-1 run, with Titriyski hammering his sixth kill on set point to put Hawaii in front.