Men’s volleyball wins back-to-back Big West championships

IRVINE, California Twice is good for the Big West’s finest, as the University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team became the first team to win back-to-back Big West championships. Hawai’i (28-2) defended its crown with a four-set victory over third-ranked UC Irvine, 25-18, 21-25, 25-13, 25-22, on Saturday night.

Even though it was the Anteaters’ home game, the Hawaii fans were out in full force, making UCI’s Bren Center feel more like SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center East as the Rainbow Warriors continued their quest to capture their third straight NCAA championship. intact.

With the win, UH earns the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Men’s Collegiate Volleyball Championship. The NCAA Tournament bracket will be announced Sunday morning at 7:00 a.m. HT on ncaa.com. The tournament will be hosted by George Mason University (Fairfax, Va.) from April 30 to May 6 at EagleBank Arena. It is UH’s ninth appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

The Anteaters (18-11), appearing in their first Big West championship game, were able to tie the game at one run after holding UH to a .182 hitting percentage in the second stanza, but UCI was unable to sustain the game. success UH beat UCI in the match, .330-.160.

UH setter Jakob Thelle he was named the tournament’s most valuable player after dishing out 47 assists with five blocks. In two tournament matches, Thelle totaled 73 assists, 12 digs, eight blocks, four kills and one service ace while guiding a UH offense that hit .356 in the tournament.

Dimitrios Mouchlias led the way with a career-high 17 kills and was involved in six blocks Chaz Galloway added 13 kills and six blocks and hit .417. Cole Hoagland went a perfect 7-7 in kill attempts and had a career-high eight blocks.

As a team, UH finished with a season-high 17.0 blocks, while the Anteaters were held to .160 hitting. UCI’s Hilir Henno matched Mouchlias with 17 kills and recorded a team-high seven blocks, while Francesco Sani added 13 kills but hit just .054 on the night.

In Set 1, the ‘Eaters led by three early until the Warriors regained the lead 11-10 after back-to-back aces from Chakas. The lead was 17-11 after six Keoni Thiim a service turn that included back-to-back aces. UH led by as many as nine with a 14-3 run before the Eaters got within five at 23-18. The Warriors ended the set with a fourth block.

UH opened up a 10-8 lead in Game 2 after a 3-0 run. UCI regained the lead 13-12 after San’s ace. The Eaters led 17-15, but a double block by Thelle-Voss tied it at 19. The Eaters answered with three straight, including an ace by Cole Gillis, and went on to take the set and even the match.

The Warriors scored the first eight points of Game 3. The Eaters trailed 9-4 after back-to-back offensive errors by Mouchlias, but the Warriors pushed the lead to nine at 14-5. UH continued to pour it on, leading by double digits after Galloway’s ace at 22-12. Hawai’i held UCI to .000 for the set.

UH got out to an early lead again with the first three points of the 4th. The teams traded sides until the Eaters tied the score at 11 when they blocked Voss. Hawai’i went up 15-12 after Hogland’s kill. Hawai’i would lead by three late at 21-18, but the Anteaters would make it 21-21 and 22-22 before the Warriors managed to win the final three points in a row to end the streak. kill Galloway.

The Warriors are now 3-1 all-time in Big West Championship games. Hawai’i became the first Big West team to win both the regular season and tournament championships in the same year since Long Beach State in 2018. Hawai’i tied its single-season record with 28, matching the team’s 2019 win total. the most in program history. Saturday’s win extended UH’s winning streak to 10 and road winning streak to 12. The Warriors also extended their winning streak against UC Irvine to 14, dating back to 2018.

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