No. 1 Hawaii sweeps UC San Diego

The top-ranked University of Hawaiʻi men’s volleyball team swept UC San Diego on Saturday night, 25-19, 25-22, 25-21, in front of a sellout crowd of 9,528 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

The win was the 26th of the season for the Rainbow Warriors (26-2, 9-1 Big West), who clinched the top seed in the upcoming Big West Conference tournament.

Six Hawaiʻi seniors were honored before the match: Jakob Thelle, Dimitrios Mouchlias, Filip Humler, Devon Johnson, Cole Hogland and Kana’i Akana.

The Rainbow Warriors got off to a quick start in the first set, jumping out to a 10-4 lead. UC San Diego (8-16, 2-8) rallied to tie the set at 19-19, but Hawaiʻi closed out the set on a 6-0 run.

The Rainbow Warriors never trailed in the second set, and they took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-22 win.

UC San Diego made a game of it in the third set, but Hawaiʻi held on for the 25-21 win.

Dimitrios Mouchlias led Hawaiʻi with 11 kills. Chaz Galloway added 10 kills, and Jakob Thelle had 42 assists.

For UC San Diego, Josh Schellinger had 12 kills, and Ryan Ka added 11.

The Rainbow Warriors will open the Big West Tournament on Thursday, April 27, against the winner of the match between UC Irvine and UC San Diego.

The seniors were honored in a pregame ceremony, and they were all given a standing ovation by the crowd. Thelle, Mouchlias, Humler, Johnson, Hogland and Akana have all been key contributors to the Rainbow Warriors’ success this season.

Thelle is the team’s starting setter, and he has led the team to a .290 hitting percentage. Mouchlias is the team’s leading scorer, and he has a .394 hitting percentage. Humler is the team’s starting middle blocker, and he has a .431 hitting percentage. Johnson is the team’s starting outside hitter, and he has a .337 hitting percentage. Hogland is the team’s starting opposite hitter, and he has a .322 hitting percentage. Akana is the team’s starting libero, and he has 275 digs.

The Rainbow Warriors are looking to win their third straight Big West Tournament championship. They will face the winner of the UC Irvine-UC San Diego match on Thursday, April 27.

University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team take on UC San Diego

The top-ranked University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team took on UC San Diego on Friday, April 14, 2023 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Warriors won the match in four sets, 28-26, 25-17, 19-25, 25-14.

Hawaii improved to 25-2 overall and 8-1 in Big West play, while UC San Diego dropped to 8-15 and 2-7 in conference matches.

The Rainbow Warriors were led by Dimitrios Mouchlias, who had 13 kills. Chaz Galloway added 11 kills, and Jakob Thelle had 39 assists.

For UC San Diego, Ryan Ka had a match-high 20 kills. Gabriel Dyer had a double-double with 44 assists and 11 digs.

The Rainbow Warriors will look to clinch at least a share of the Big West regular season title when they host UC San Diego again on Saturday, April 15. The match is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

by Honolulu Vibes