If 2021 could be considered a payoff year, it appeared at times 2022 would go into the books as an investment in the future of the Hawaii men’s volleyball program.

Sure, the defending national champion Rainbow Warriors opened the season in January at No. 1 in the polls, but the fact remained that four mainstays who earned All-America recognition had completed their careers in the 2021 NCAA final.

Last year’s leaders at the pins (National Player of the Year Rado Parapunov and Colton Cowell), in the middle (Patrick Gasman) and in the back row (Gage Worsley) had paid their dues in falling short in the 2019 title match and having the 2020 season cut short by the onset of COVID-19 before finally completing their mission in Columbus, Ohio, with a dominant sweep of Brigham Young last spring.

The Warriors returned three starters — outside hitter Chaz Galloway, setter Jakob Thelle and middle blocker Guilherme Voss — from the title team, but even they were transitioning into leadership positions while previous role players such as outside hitter Spyros Chakas and opposite Dimitrios Mouchlias moved into full-time duty as primary scorers.

After weathering some early dips to remain among the national contenders, the revamped Warriors found themselves at 3-3 in Big West play and in fourth place in the conference standings in early April.

So perhaps this would be a season that would eventually be looked back upon as a growth experience that would pay dividends down the road.

Or perhaps not …

Instead, the Warriors converted on the lessons of their five losses and cashed in with a run of nine victories, culminating with a sweep of Big West rival Long Beach State, to secure a second straight national championship.

“This year took a lot of hard work to get us back here,” UH coach Charlie Wade said during the downtown rally to celebrate the repeat. “Last year we were the favorite pretty much start to finish and, frankly, if we didn’t win we would have been really disappointed.

“This year we knew we had a chance to be one of the best teams, but the guys just believed and kept working and kept competing.”

Playing through pain

Thelle’s efficiency in running the UH attack and production behind the service line linked the title teams, and the junior from Norway epitomized the collective blend of skill and grit that would define the Warriors’ title defense.

Thelle set the Warriors to a .340 hitting percentage, good for fifth in the nation, fired a school-record 61 aces and remained a steady yet dynamic presence on the floor while playing through pain in his knee over the final month of the season.

He suffered the injury in the week leading into a regular-season series at Long Beach State. Yet he helped the Warriors play some of their best volleyball of the season over their final nine matches.

“It was tough. I could never fully jump, fully run,” Thelle said. “If I’m 75% physically you have to be 125% mentally. It was giving everything you’ve got in the end. I told Coach on championship day, ‘This is the last 110% I’ve got for the year.’ ”

The importance of Thelle’s floor presence had been magnified early in the season when he and Voss remained in Manoa due to health and safety protocols while the Warriors dropped two matches at Ball State in late January. Galloway and outside hitter Filip Humler were also out for the series in Muncie, Ind., as the Cardinals sparked their run to the NCAA’s Final Four with a sweep and a five-set win over then-No. 1 UH.

The Warriors hit another bump when they opened the Big West schedule with a five-set loss at UC San Diego on March 2.

“There were times when guys struggled and you start to question yourself and then it raises the competition in the practice gym, where someone has now beat you out and taken your spot,” Wade said. “Then they ended up improving and working themselves back into the lineup.

“I just think a lot of growth and a lot of trust went into this year. These guys trusting the training, trusting in each other, and still competing against each other and challenging each other.”

The comeback

While Thelle remained in the lineup with a “pretty fat knee” for the Long Beach State series on April 1 and 2, the Warriors dropped two four-set duels at the Walter Pyramid to slip into the middle of the Big West standings with two weekends left in the season.

“I think that was the turning point,” Chakas said. “We realized we don’t have time to waste, not many games left in the season. We knew we had to do our best, and that’s when everything turned around — we played our best volleyball.”

The Greek combo of Chakas and Mouchlias helped power the Warriors through series sweeps of UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine — including two five-set wins — and into the Big West Championship at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center as the tournament’s second seed.

Upsets in other conference tournaments left the Warriors in must-win mode to have a shot at defending the national title, and they protected home court with sweeps of UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State before frenzied crowds to earn a spot in the NCAA bracket and a trip to Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.

Effectively, if not officially, the third seed in the National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship, the Warriors swept past North Greenville, then rallied from a 2-1 deficit to edge second-seeded Ball State in five sets in an anticipated semifinal rematch.

A fourth meeting with Long Beach State would add another chapter to college men’s volleyball’s hottest rivalry, and the Warriors this time overpowered the Beach 25-22, 25-21, 25-20, playing perhaps their finest match in the NCAA final for the second straight year.

“I think that shows something very professional about our team, ” said Chakas, the NCAA Tournament MVP. “We played really well when it mattered.

“It was a journey that started off with some bad times. But then the way we turned it around and were able to bounce back — and not only bounce back but win the national championship — was just an amazing thing to see and be a part of.”

Collective effort

Statistically, the Warriors ended the season at the nation’s top blocking team at 2.83 per set and ranked second in aces per set at 1.96.

Thelle was named a first-team AVCA All-American, Voss and Chakas were second-team picks and Mouchlias, who missed last year’s championship while recovering from ankle surgeries, earned an honorable mention nod. But just about every member of the active roster contributed a pivotal moment over the course of the season.

Galloway worked back from an ankle injury to remain a threat from the left side and provide steady passing. Middle blocker Cole Hogland began the season on the “B side” but emerged as a dynamic producer at the net. Brett Sheward, a setter early in his UH career, took over at libero and sparked the Warriors’ defense, particularly in the late-season surge.

“I kept getting asked about who was going to have to play well for us to win,” Wade said. “But it was never about one guy stepping up. This was more of a team. We won because at the end we were the best team.”