Hawaii sweeps North Greenville in NCAA men’s volleyball tournament opener

VICTOR M. POSADAS / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
Hawaii’s Spyros Chakas hits the ball past the block of North Greenville’s Michael de la Cruz (20) and Gregory Torres (14).

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VICTOR M. POSADAS / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER

Hawaii’s Spyros Chakas hits the ball past the block of North Greenville’s Michael de la Cruz (20) and Gregory Torres (14).

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VICTOR M. POSADAS / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER

Hawaii’s Dimitrios Mouchlias hits the ball over North Greenville’s Diego Rosich.

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Hawaii made quick work of North Greenville to advance to the semifinals of the National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship today at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.

Hawaii setter Jakob Thelle fired four aces to break the program’s single-season record and outside hitter Spyros Chakas put away 12 kills in 17 attacks in UH’s 25-15, 25-17, 25-16 sweep of the Crusaders.

The defending national champion Rainbow Warriors (25-5) will face second-seeded Ball State in a semifinal match on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. The Cardinals swept a two-match series against a shorthanded Warriors lineup in late January in Muncie, Ind.

UH set up the rematch by hitting a collective .429 to North Greenville’s .062 in overpowering the Conference Carolinas champion. UH opposite Dimitrios Mouchlias finished with 10 kills in 16 attempts, and middle blocker Cole Hogland added six kills in eight swings with no errors. Middle blocker Guilherme Voss was in on six blocks.

>> PHOTOS: Hawaii vs. North Greenville

“I liked the way we started the match — the guys came out pretty efficient and fortunate enough to advance,” UH coach Charlie Wade said.

Thelle’s first serve of the match resulted in an ace and he added two in a 7-0 UH run in the middle of the opening set. His third ace of the set was his 54th of the season, tying UH’s single-season record. The Warriors pulled away in hitting .455 in the set to NGU’s .200.

UH took control of the second set with a 7-1 run highlighted by three blocks, two by Voss, to open up a 13-7 lead. Chakas ended the set by forcing an overpass from the service line then putting away a kill from the back row.

Thelle broke the ace record on his first serve of the third set and UH edged out to a 10-9 lead. The Warriors broke away with a a 5-1 surge and punctuated the sweep with a block by Voss and Chaz Galloway.

“(The Crusaders are) very confident when the ball goes back on their side — they knew exactly what they wanted to do, so it was important that we were able to defend and go on some scoring runs early,” Wade said.

Gregory Torres led North Greenville with 12 kills and the Crusaders closed a historic season at 21-6.

In today’s opening match, host UCLA advanced with a 25-23, 22-25, 26-24, 25-19 win over Pepperdine. The Bruins will face top-seeded Long Beach State on Thursday.