BYU Volleyball Falls to Hawaii in National Championship

BYU men’s volleyball fell to the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors in straight sets (25-21, 25-19, 25-16) Saturday night in the National Championship at Ohio State University.

BYU and Hawaii were ranked 1 and 2 all season, but ultimately Hawaii proved themselves to be the top team in the country against the Cougars. The Cougars failed to win their first national championship since 2004 in the same place they were swept by Ohio State in 2017. The Cougars struggled throughout the match and never took showed any promise of a comeback.

The Cougars split the series in the 2020 season with Hawaii, sweeping them in the first match before falling in 5 sets in the second match. That result led to the Cougars number 1 ranking last season, before the season was cancelled due to COVID-19.

With Saturday’s result, the Cougars finished the season 20-4. The Cougars have now been swept in four straight national championship appearances, including 2021 by Hawaii and back-to-back years against Ohio State in 2016 and 2017, as well as against UC Irvine in 2013.

BYU will look to return several playmakers and make a run again in 2022.