Update April 23, 2023: The Rainbow Warriors received the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will play in the second semifinal match on May 4 at 1:30 p.m. HST. UH will play the winner of a quarterfinal matchup between Penn State and the winner between Ohio State and King University. On the other side of the bracket, UCLA received the No. 1 seed and will play the winner of Long Beach State and Grand Canyon in the first semifinal. The championship match is slated for May 6 at 11 a.m. HST.
Original story:
The University of Hawaiʻi men’s volleyball team is NCAA Tournament bound after winning the Big West championship match in four sets over UC Irvine, April 22, at the Bren Center in Irvine, California, 25-18, 21-25, 25-13 and 25-22.
With the victory, the No. 1 ranked Rainbow Warriors improved to 28-2 on the season and the Anteaters fell to 18-11.
UH was led by junior opposite Dimitrios Mouchlias with 17 kills hitting .387. Junior outside hitters Chaz Galloway and Spyros Chakas added 13 and nine kills, respectively. Junior middle blockers Cole Hogland and Guilherme Voss dominated at the net with eight and seven blocks, respectively.
Senior setter Jakob Thelle commanded the offensive attack with 47 assists.
Game script
The Anteaters got out to an early 6-3 lead in the first set. The Rainbow Warriors closed the gap and took a slim 13-11 lead on a kill by Chakas. Junior outside hitter Keoni Thiim then entered the match to serve and the ‘Bows went on a four-point run, including two aces by Thiim. Kills by Galloway, Chakas and Hogland pushed UH’s lead to eight at 21-13. UC Irvine went on a small run at the end of the first set, but the Rainbow Warriors built too big of a lead winning the set, 25-18, on a statement block by Voss and Mouchlias.
UC Irvine took the opening point of set two, before each team went on three-point runs of their own as the Anteaters led 4-3 early. Consecutive kills by Galloway, Chakas and Mouchlias gave the Rainbow Warriors a slim 10-8 advantage in the set, forcing UC Irvine to call a timeout. No team led by more than two points until UC Irvine went on a three-point run to take a late 22-19 lead. The Anteaters held on to win the second set, 25-21.
The Rainbow Warriors stormed out of the gate in the third set, taking a 4-0 lead on kills by Chakas and Mouchlias, an attack error by the Anteaters and a block by Voss and Chakas, forcing UC Irvine to call an early timeout. UH kept the momentum going, taking another four straight points, forcing the Anteaters to call their second timeout down 8-0. The Rainbow Warriors then maintained at least a six-point lead throughout the set, winning convincingly, 25-13.
The fourth set was almost a mirror of the third as the ‘Bows jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a trio of attack errors from the Anteaters. UC Irvine tied the set at four, before the Rainbow Warriors took a slim lead at 9-7 on a kill by Thelle. The set remained extremely close as there were ties at 11 and 12, before a massive block by Hogland and Galloway gave UH a 14-12 lead. The Rainbow Warriors maintained a 19-16 lead at a critical stage in the set, and fought off a late charge by the Anteaters to hold on and win the fourth set, 25-22.
UH is now 7-2 all-time in the Big West Tournament and 3-1 in the championship match. The Rainbow Warriors previously won the title in 2019 and 2022, and finished runner-up in 2018.
Now it’s time to celebrate
#WarriorBall23 #GoBows— Hawaii Men’s Volleyball (@HawaiiMensVB) April 22, 2023
NCAA Tournament bound
The Rainbow Warriors’ quest for a third straight national championship heads to Fairfax, Virginia at EagleBank Arena on the campus of George Mason University. The opening round is on April 30, followed by the semifinals on May 4 and the NCAA championship match on May 6. UH will find out on April 23 which seed and who they will play in the NCAA Tournament. Indications point to the Rainbow Warriors securing one of the important top two seeds going into the seven-team tournament since UH was the top-ranked team in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll for 15 of 16 weeks this season before winning the Big West Tournament.
—By Marc Arakaki
