There were times last week when Dimitrios Mouchlias carried Hawaii’s attack during a series sweep to close the regular season.
There had also been moments earlier in the month when the Rainbow Warriors sophomore found himself in need of a lift.
Two nights of frustration at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif., in the first weekend of April left Mouchlias with a negative hitting percentage and in search of a path back to his previous productivity.
The road trip was part of a stretch during which Mouchlias acknowledged, “I was struggling, mostly mentally.”
“When you don’t have a few good games you sit back and think, ‘What’s going wrong?’ and you start analyzing many different things,” he said. “My teammates, my coaches, my family helped me get out of this situation and I’m glad I have them.”
Mouchlias emerged from the mini-slump with renewed motivation and elevated his game to a level that would earn the Warriors opposite conference and national recognition this week.
Since returning from Long Beach — where he scratched out nine kills with 10 errors while playing four sets in two UH losses — Mouchlias has posted double-figure kill totals in each of the Warriors’ past four matches, hitting .448 (71 kills, 11 errors, 134 attempts) with 4.44 kills per set.
He capped the regular season by putting away a career-high 31 kills in 49 attempts and hitting .510 in the Warriors’ five-set comeback victory at UC Irvine last Saturday. Following the series at the Bren Events Center, Mouchlias was named the Big West Offensive Player of the Week and the National Opposite of the Week by Off The Block on Monday.
On Tuesday, he added the AVCA Division I-II Men’s Player of the Week award to his collection. Mouchlias is the second UH player and fourth from the Big West to claim the national honor this season. UH setter Jakob Thelle won the first award of the season on Jan. 9.
Mouchlias’ 31-kill performance marked the highest total in the Big West this season and the most for a UH player since Brook Sedore had 31 against UC San Diego on April 13, 2013.
“He definitely stepped up and played at a high level,” UH coach Charlie Wade said. “He didn’t play well at Long Beach and he knew it and took ownership and he’s taken it upon himself to elevate his game.”
Wade noted he was walking through SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center on Monday, an off day for the team, and found Mouchlias in the weight room.
“I think he’s pretty focused and definitely playing his best volleyball of the year right now,” Wade said.
Mouchlias leads the Warriors with 3.47 kills per set entering this week’s Outrigger Big West Championship at SimpliFi Arena. Second-seeded UH (22-5, 7-3 Big West) earned a bye in Thursday’s opening round as the second seed in the bracket and will face No. 3 seed UC Santa Barbara (18-8, 6-4) or No. 6 Cal State Northridge (6-15, 1-9) in a semifinal match on Friday.
Top-seeded Long Beach State (19-4, 8-2) will face No. 4 UC San Diego (13-10, 5-5) or No. 5 UC Irvine (10-15, 3-7) in the other semifinal.
As the stakes rise entering the postseason, the competition in the practice gym has picked up as well.
Wade said he’s mixed in Alakai Todd with the A-side in practices “just to keep everybody fresh and … keep it competitive.”
“And Dimi has responded exactly how a coach wants you to respond. … You play better instead of pouting and letting the other guy take over. It’s been fun.”
Said Mouchlias: “It’s good to have competition in practice, especially after the Long Beach games where I got benched. That gave me extra motivation to work hard and prove myself.”
Mouchlias will get his first opportunity to play in a Big West tournament this week. He was a freshman on the 2020 team that saw the season cut short in the onset of the pandemic. He spent last season at home in Greece rehabbing from surgery and watched UH’s semifinal loss to UC San Diego in the early morning hours.
The Warriors were awarded an at-large berth to the NCAA Championship and went on to capture the national title. A year later, the upset in the Big West tournament “was a lesson, and Coach keeps reminding us what happened last year,” Mouchlias said. “So we can’t sit back and relax. We have to play each game 100%.”
Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship
At SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
>> When: Thursday to Saturday
>> TV: Spectrum Sports
>> Radio: UH matches on 1420-AM / 92.7-FM
Schedule
>> Thursday — No. 4 UC San Diego vs. No. 5 UC Irvine, 4:30 p.m.; No. 3 UC Santa Barbara vs. No. 6 Cal State Northridge, 7 p.m.
>> Friday — No. 1 Long Beach State vs. UCSD/UC Irvine winner, 4:30 p.m.; No. 2 Hawaii vs. UCSB/CSUN winner, 7 p.m.
>> Saturday — Championship, 7:30 p.m.
