Bulgarian national Kristiyan Titriyski played a key role in Hawaii's qualification for the US collegiate championship final, after his team eliminated reigning champion Long Beach State 3:1 (25:15, 18:25, 25:21, 25:22) in the semifinals. With this success, it became clear that the NCAA will have a new champion, as "Beach" failed to defend its 2025 title, when Moni Nikolov played for Long Beach.
Hawaii's opposite hitter was among the strongest players on the court and finished with 19 points (3 blocks, 2 aces). He was crucial in the final minutes of the fourth set when his team made a comeback from 18:14 down to Long Beach. It was Titriyski who scored the last point in the match, closing out the contest.
Hawaii convincingly won the net battle with 14.5 blocks. Middle blocker Justin Todd stood out with 10 successful blocks – a key factor in neutralizing Long Beach's attack. Setter Tread Rosenthal orchestrated the game with 36 assists, and the team finished with high attacking efficiency – 33.7%.
Long Beach, who won the title last season, failed to repeat their performance this time. After Hawaii's strong start in the first set, "Beach" responded in the second, but conceded the initiative in the decisive moments of the third and fourth sets.
The end of the match was particularly telling – a 6:1 run for Hawaii in the fourth set turned the tide, with blocking and serving tipping the scales.
Hawaii will play for the title against UC Irvine, which will be the seventh final in the program's history for the island state. The match will be played at 2 AM on Tuesday, Bulgarian time.
After eliminating the champion and with a form like Kristiyan Titriyski's, the team enters the final with real ambitions to return to the top in the NCAA, following their three consecutive titles from 2021 to 2023.
photo:hawaiiathletics.com