Still shorthanded and playing from behind for much of the night, No. 1 Hawaii extended Ball State to a fifth set in Monday’s series finale in Muncie, Ind.

But Ball Sate setter Quinn Isaacson pushed the host Cardinals ahead early in the decisive set with back-to-back aces and added another on match point to close out a 25-18, 22-25, 27-25, 22-25, 15-11 duel at Worthen Arena.

Isaacson finished with five aces and led a Ball State attack that hit .436 to help the 10th-ranked Cardinals (5-0) complete the series sweep over the Rainbow Warriors (4-2). Ball State opposite Angelos Mandilaris put away 25 kills on .422 hitting and outside hitter Kaleb Jenness added 20 kills two nights after Saturday’s quick sweep of a UH team missing three starters.

UH entered the series without setter Jakob Thelle and middle blocker Guilherme Voss due to health and safety protocols and outside hitter Chaz Galloway due to an injury. Outside hitter Filip Humler returned to the lineup after sitting out Saturday’s match as well.

After hitting a season-low .159 in the series opener, the Warriors improved to .366 on Monday, led by Dimitrios Mouchlias’ career-high 21 kills in 39 swings. Outside hitter Spyros Chakas also set a career best with 15 kills and middle blocker Cole Hogland finished with 10 kills in 14 attempts, also career highs. Chakas and Hogland were each in on four of UH’s 10 blocks.

“We’re really not into moral victories — it’s about winning,” UH coach Charlie Wade said in a post-match Zoom session. “But certainly some progress from the other night and some nice individual performances and some really valuable court time for some of our younger players that I think is going to serve us well going forward.”

Mouchlias was held to six kills with four errors in 17 attempts on Saturday, but rebounded by hitting .538 in an error-free performance on Monday. The sophomore added 10 digs and had two aces.

“He was great,” Wade said. “As an opposite he’s hitting against a double and triple (block) all night long and he played well.”

The Warriors continue their first road trip of the season by heading to Austin, Texas, for the First Point Volleyball Foundation Collegiate Challenge. Wade said Thelle and Voss are expected to meet the team in Austin today. Galloway remains “day-to-day” after suffering an injury in practice on Friday and watched both matches from the sideline with his foot in a protective boot.

Despite Saturday’s 25-20, 25-18, 25-19 loss, UH retained the top spot in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll released on Monday, while Ball State jumped five spots to No. 10. Along with UH’s loss, then-No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 Long Beach State also fell on Saturday.

“I think what you’re seeing across the nation in men’s college volleyball his year … it’s wide open,” Wade said. “Whoever’s going to improve the most is going to be around and competing for the championship at the end.”

The Cardinals opened the rematch by hitting .750 with 16 kills and one error in 20 attempts in winning their 13th consecutive set to open the season.

The Warriors ended that streak by closing the second set with a 4-1 run capped by Chakas’ kill off an overpass.

There were 10 ties in a tight third set and the Warriors fought off two set points before a Mandilaris kill and a block by Vanis Buckholz gave Ball State a 2-1 lead in the match.

UH responded again in the fourth set, closing with a 4-1 surge with Chakas hammering a kill off the block to send the match to a fifth set.

UH took a 3-1 lead early in the fifth set before the Cardinals moved ahead with a block by Buckholz and back-to-back aces from Isaacson. Jenness put away three consecutive kills to cap a 6-0 run that gave Ball State a 7-3 lead.

UH closed to within a point on four occasions, including 9-8 on Keoni Thiim’s ace off the bench and 12-11 on Mouchlias’ final kill. But a UH hitting error and Mandilaris kill gave Ball State match point and Isaacson closed the match with a final ace.

“(Isaacson) did a really nice job,” Wade said. “He ended up with double-digit digs (15) and they hit for a high percentage — he is a really good player. I was impressed with him both nights. Veteran guys step up when it’s time to make plays, and he had some nice turns from the service line.”

UH was scheduled to face Kentucky State on Friday, but the Thorobreds pulled out of the First Point event due to “COVID-19 quarantine/isolation protocols” and were replaced by Fairleigh Dickinson. The Warriors and Knights meet at 7:30 a.m. on Friday in the first collegiate men’s volleyball match to be played in Texas.