Hawaii wins the 2021 NC men's volleyball national championship

The Rainbow Warriors used a 6-0 run to distance themselves from the Cougars midway through the second set. Hawaii's hitting percentage is now at .370, while BYU is at .294. Parapunov still leads all players with eight digs and three service aces.

ALL Rainbow Warriors right now! #WarriorBall21 🌈🏐 pic.twitter.com/Wm1gllUB7y

— Hawaii Men’s Volleyball (@HawaiiMensVB) May 9, 2021

Click or tap here for live stats.

Hawaii draws first blood, as the Rainbow Warriors win the opening set of the championship match, 25-21. Rado Parapunov leads all players with five kills and three digs for 5.5 points. The game is being televised on ESPNU.

Below are each team's stats from the first set.

Hawaii 25

BYU 21

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The finals of the National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship are set. No. 1 Hawaii will battle No. 2 BYU at 8 p.m. on May 8 on ESPNU.

Hawaii was the first team to move on to the national championship after sweeping UC Santa Barbara 3-0, on the back of Colton Cowell (10 kills), Patrick Gasman (10 kills) and Rado Parapunov (11 kills) all delivering double-digit kills in the match. 

No. 2 BYU also pulled off a victory in its semifinal matchup against Lewis. The Cougars won 3-1 as they were led by Gabi Farcia Fenandez who posted 16 kills. 

Here were Thursday's semifinal results:

• No. 1 seed Hawaii def. UC Santa Barbara 3-0  
• No. 2 seed BYU def. Lewis 3-1

Here is the schedule for the national championship match on Saturday, May 8:

• No. 1 seed Hawaii vs. No. 2 seed BYU | 8 p.m. EDT on ESPNU

Click here to view the updated interactive bracket.

UCSB Athletics

The opening round of the 2021 National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship concluded Tuesday with two matches. UC Santa Barbara defeated Pepperdine, 3-1, to advance to the semifinals. Lewis swept Penn State, 3-0, to also move on. 

Below are the results from Tuesday's games:

• UC Santa Barbara 3, Pepperdine 1
• Lewis 3, Penn State 0

No. 1 seed Hawaii will meet UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals, while Lewis will face No. 2 seed BYU. Both matches are scheduled for Thursday, May 6. Match times can be found below.

• No. 1 Hawaii vs. UC Santa Barbara | 5 p.m. ET
• No. 2 BYU vs. Lewis | 8 p.m. ET

You can view the complete interactive bracket here.

Penn State Athletics

The men's volleyball championship begins today with an opening-round match between Penn State (21-3) and Belmont Abbey (15-7) at 5 p.m. EDT. You can watch the match on BTN Plus. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals to face Lewis at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 4.

You can see the interactive tournament bracket here.

NCAA.com

The NCAA Men’s Volleyball Committee announced today the seven teams vying for the 2021 National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship. The top two seeds have been placed in the bracket; the remaining five teams will compete for the last two berths in the bracket via three opening round matches.

In the first opening round match, Penn State (21-3) will play Belmont Abbey (15-7). The winner will advance to the third opening round match to play Lewis (20-2), with the winner advancing to the championship bracket to play Brigham Young (19-3) at Ohio State.

In the second opening round match, UC Santa Barbara (15-4) will play Pepperdine (13-6), with the winner advancing to the championship bracket to play Hawaii (15-1) at Ohio State. The opening round matches will be contested May 3 and 4, hosted by The Ohio State University, and the championship will be held May 6 and 8, hosted by Ohio State.

Game time for the first opening round match will take place at 5 p.m. Eastern time, May 3. The second and third opening round matches at Ohio State are 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern time, May 4. Game times for the semifinals are 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern time, May 6. The championship game will be played at 8 p.m. Eastern time, May 8.

The semifinal matches will be streamed live on NCAA.com and the championship match will be televised live on ESPNU and will be played at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio.

Conferences receiving automatic qualification included the Big West Conference, Conference Carolinas, Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The remaining two teams were selected at-large without geographical restrictions.

*Vacated