College volleyball is indoor theater until Hawaii hosts a regional final — then it becomes weather.
NCAA.com game summary →
What this round meant
NCAA.com paired No. 2 Hawaiʻi against USC on May 2 with a Final Four berth attached — one of four regional finals that trim the Elite Eight to four.
Line score
Per USC Athletics and NCAA.com:
Hawaiʻi 3, USC 1 — 25-22, 24-26, 25-23, 32-30
Read that fourth set again: 32-30 — not a typo, just two teams refusing to let the night end like gentlemen.
Crowd as co-star
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported an announced 9,943 fans — described as an NCAA tournament single-match attendance record in follow-on coverage.
That's not ambiance — that's an extra attacker wearing flip-flops and screaming on changeovers.
Player receipts
USC's recap led with Dillon Klein (16 kills) and a 20-point scoring night in his final collegiate match — the kind of career punctuation that stings even when it's heroic.
Hawaiʻi's side — summarized across USC + Star-Advertiser lanes — featured Kristian Titriyski (19 kills), Adrien Roure (13 kills, seven aces), and setter Tread Rosenthal navigating 56 assists — quarterback paperwork at mach speed.
Star-Advertiser also noted the ending knife-twist: net violation tension on match point after multiple Hawaiʻi swings — drama only volleyball could manufacture without CGI.
UVN connective tissue
Rosenthal already anchors UVN's national command conversation — see Rowan / Jokanovic / Rosenthal trio feature.
Sources
United Volleyball Network — May 3, 2026.