After falling in the first set against the No. 14 Stanford, leaders Hawaii didn’t lag behind with a four-set win over the Cardinal in today’s First Point Volleyball Foundation Collegiate Challenge finals in Austin, Texas.
UH versus Dimitrios Mouchlias saw his streak of three clean matches end with his first swing of the match but bounced back to lead the Rainbow Warriors (7-2) to a 19-25, 25-13, 25-19, 25- 20 win with 18 kills in 38 attempts. The sophomore also featured in five of UH’s 11 blocks in the Austin Convention Center win.
Outside hitter Spyros Chakas added 13 kills and fired his third ace at match point. UH outside hitter Kana’i Akana set career highs with seven kills and 10 digs.
UH setter Jakob Thelle had 38 assists, six digs and an ace and was there in four blocks.
The Warriors went 3-0 in the inaugural men’s college volleyball event in Texas at the conclusion of a 12-day road trip.
UH hit .083 in the first set and dropped a set against Stanford for the first time since 2016 after winning the previous six encounters with the Cardinal.
Thelle opened the second set with a seven-point run at service and the Warriors allowed just one point on Stanford’s serve in the set to level the match.
Chakas had two kills and an ace in a 7-1 UH surge to open the third set and the Warriors later pulled away on a 4-0 run to take a 22-15 lead.
The fourth set was tight until a block three from Mouchlias, Akana and Guilherme Voss sparked a 5-0 UH run that included an ace from Chakas. The Warriors were able to fend off the Cardinal the rest of the way, with Chakas ending the match with an ace.
Will Rottman led Stanford (6-3) with 15 kills in .064 hits. Middle blocker Ethan Hill added 13 kills while hitting .632.
The Warriors return home and start a three-game series against Long Island on Tuesday at the SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center.
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