Hawaii opposite Dimitrios Mouchlias put away a season-high 23 kills and set a career best with six blocks as the top-ranked Rainbow Warriors pulled out a four-set win over No. 5 UC Irvine tonight at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
The Rainbow Warriors (23-2, 6-1 Big West) handed the Anteaters (16-7, 6-1) their first conference loss of the season 25-16, 17-25, 25-23, 25-22 and forced a three-way tie atop the standings along with Long Beach State (17-3, 6-1).
The Warriors take a six-match winning streak into Saturday’s series finale.
Mouchlias led a UH attack that hit .451, with outside hitter Spyros Chakas finishing with 14 kills on .419 hitting and Chaz Galloway adding nine kills. Chakas also fired three of UH’s six aces. Setter Jakob Thelle distributed 49 assists and had two kills, including a tip to close out the third set.
Middle blockers Guilherme Voss and Cole Hogland both had six kills in eight swings, with Hogland hammering match point.
UCI opposite Francesco Sani led the Anteaters with 19 kills on 33 attacks to hit .455, and outside hitter Hilir Henno contributed 14 kills and three aces. Outside hitter Cole Gillis had 12 kills on 13 swings through three sets but went 0-for-9 with four errors in the fourth.
>> PHOTOS: Hawaii vs. UC Irvine
The serving advantage tilted to UH in an opening set that was all but decided with Keoni Thiim’s six-point service turn off the bench that gave the Warriors a 16-9 lead. Thiim fired the second of UH ’s three aces in the set and Chakas forced a free ball and an overpass to set up the Warriors’ final two points of the set.
The momentum flipped in the second set when Henno, the nation’s leader in aces per set, forced the Warriors out of system and dropped in his second ace of the night in a four-point run. UCI serving sub Akhil Tangutur similarly stymied the Warriors to extend the run to 9-1 and the Anteaters ran away to even the match. UH was held under 20 points in a set for the first time since a loss at Long Beach State last season.
UH saw a 19-15 lead in the third set wiped out by a four-point service turn from Gillis. UH appeared to have set point for a moment at 24-21, but UCI issued a challenge and the point was replayed. UCI capitalized with Henno’s tip for a kill and a block to tie the set. After a UH timeout, Thelle set up Hogland for a kill in the middle, then finished the next rally himself to give UH the set and the lead in the match.
Chakas had four kills in a 6-0 run that gave UH a 13-8 lead in the fourth set. Thiim added his second ace off the bench and the Warriors held off the Anteaters down the stretch.
