Dimitrios Mouchlias enters the final home series of his University of Hawaii volleyball career with his second AVCA National Collegiate Men’s Player of the Week award.
Mouchlias picked up the award on Tuesday after leading the top-ranked Rainbow Warriors to a sweep of their two-match series with No. 5 UC Irvine last weekend.
He averaged five kills over seven sets against the Anteaters, with 35 total kills against six errors for a .466 hitting percentage.
Overall, Mouchlias ranks second in the Big West and ninth nationally with 3.97 kills per set. He’s also second in the conference and 11th in NCAA Division I-II in hitting percentage at .401.
In eight Big West matches, he’s hitting a league-best .409 with 4.24 kills per set.
“You look at his numbers on the year, he’s hitting .400 as an opposite,” UH coach Charlie Wade said on Tuesday. “The blocking numbers, the serving numbers are good. He’s playing at a really high level, and it’s good to see him really getting consistent night in and night out.”
Classified as a junior in athletic eligibility, Mouchlias approached this season as his senior year with plans to pursue professional volleyball after graduating this spring with a degree in kinesiology and rehabilitation science. As such, he’s among the six Warriors preparing for their farewell appearances in SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center this weekend when No. 1 Hawaii (24-2, 7-1 BWC) plays host to UC San Diego (8-14, 2-6) in a two-match series to close the regular season.
UH is tied with Long Beach State for first place in the conference and holds the tie-breaker edge if they remain knotted after Saturday’s play.
Mouchlias put away a season-high 23 digs in 42 attacks in a .452 hitting performance in the series opener last Friday, putting away seven of his first 10 attempts, and set a career best with six blocks, including three solo.
He did have an off night from the service line with five errors, but bounced back by drilling three aces in the rematch on Saturday. In all, UH scored 10 points on his 19 serves with just two errors in the Warriors’ sweep.
“That’s a lot, especially when he’s the fourth server, really impactful,” Wade said after the match in reference to Mouchlias’ total serves. “And obviously he had it going offensively.”
He delivered his first ace of the match to knot the first set at 23-23 and delivered a kill to stave off a UCI set point as the Warriors rallied to win the set on their way to the sweep. Mouchlias finished with 12 kills and two errors in 23 swings for a .435 night, hitting over .400 for the 14th time this season, and added two block assists and a match-high seven digs.
Originally from Soufli, Greece, Mouchlias joined countryman and UH outside hitter Spyros Chakas in earning the AVCA award this season. Chakas picked up the award for the week of Jan. 15 and UH and UC Irvine (Hilir Henno and Francesco Sani) are the only teams to have two players named National Player of the Week so far this season.
Big West men’s volleyball
At SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
UC San Diego (8-14, 2-6) vs. No. 1 Hawaii (24-2, 7-1)
>> When: Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m.
>> TV: Spectrum Sports
>> Radio: 1420-AM / 92.7-FM
