Hawaii sends off volleyball seniors with Big West-clinching win By Jason Kaneshiro
4/16/23, Honolulu Star-Advertiser
DARRYL OUMI / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
After the match, the six outgoing Warriors — Jakob Thelle, Dimitrios Mouchlias, Devon Johnson, Cole Hogland, Filip Humler and Kana‘i Akana— were honored. Aloha ball, indeed.
Before the traditional senior night sendoff in a sold-out SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center, No. 1 Hawaii made it a double celebration by clinching a share of its second Big West regular-season championship and the top seed in the conference tournament with a sweep of UC San Diego on Saturday.
UH opposite Dimitrios Mouchlias put away a team-high 11 kills in his final match in Manoa and senior setter Jakob Thelle bid farewell to the home crowd by leading the Warriors to a .375 hitting performance in the 25-19, 25-22, 25-21 victory before a turnstile crowd of 9,528.
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“We discussed it in the locker room before the game and Coach Charlie (Wade) mentioned he wanted us to send the seniors out the best way possible,” Mouchlias said. “Everyone enjoyed it and was super focused.”
Outside hitter Spyros Chakas fired three consecutive aces late in the third set and finished with nine kills in 19 swings. Outside hitter Chaz Galloway added seven kills and middle blocker Guilherme Voss had six kills in eight error-free swings and was in on six of UH’s 12 blocks.
The sellout was UH’s second of the season and the program’s 13th since the Stan Sheriff Center’s first match in 1995. The arena’s last UH event of the 2022-23 athletic year marked the final home appearances for Thelle, Mouchlias, Cole Hogland, Kana’i Akana, Filip Humler and Devon Johnson, who were honored after the match.
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“It’s always a bittersweet moment,” Wade said. “These guys have meant so much to the program, meant so much to the community, and they’re good young men. Excited for them and the next phase of their life, but sad to see them move on for sure.”
Thelle was the last to be introduced in the ceremony, giving him a few moments to gather his thoughts before receiving a standing ovation from the crowd.
“Everything is going through my mind,” said Thelle, whose family made the trip from Norway for the week. “Just thinking about the past five years, reflecting on all the amazing experiences I’ve had here in the islands and been loving every single second of it.”
The Warriors finished the regular season at 26-2 and 9-1 in Big West play, and will take a nine-match winning streak into the Big West Tournament as the top seed in the six-team bracket.
UH and Long Beach State (20-3, 9-1), which pulled out a reverse sweep at UC Irvine earlier Saturday, ended the regular season tied atop the standings. But the Warriors owned the tiebreaker by outscoring the Beach 144-141 in their series split to open the conference season on March 17 and 18.
Both teams will have byes in the first round of the tournament and advance to Friday’s semifinals at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif. UH will face the winner of Thursday’s first-round match between fourth-seeded UC Santa Barbara (7-16, 3-7) and fifth-seeded UCSD (8-16, 2-8). Host and third seed UC Irvine (16-10, 6-4) faces Cal State Northridge (12-15, 1-9) in the other first-round match, with the winner to face LBSU.
“We knew that it was senior night. We also knew it was our last game in the Stan for this particularly special group,” Thelle said. “So just being focused on our game and getting that first seed for the tournament was our first focus, then enjoying the moment for our seniors.”
The Warriors, coming off a .275 hitting performance in Friday’s four-set series opener, got off to a balanced and efficient start in the rematch. UH hit .419 with just one error, with six starters contributing at least one kill, including Thelle, who took a swing from the right side off an assist from libero Brett Sheward.
The second set was far tighter, with neither team leading by more than three. After UCSD moved ahead 22-21, prompting UH’s second timeout of the set, Mouchlias’ kill off the block triggered a 4-0 UH run. He teamed with Hogland on a block of Ryan Ka to give UH set point, then put away his fourth kill of the set to give UH a 2-0 lead in the match.
Mouchlias is classified as a junior but will pursue his professional career after graduating this semester.
“I feel really sad leaving this place, leaving all my friends, all my teammates, my coaches, but it’s time,” Mouchlias said. “I love the support of all the people that came and are still here and I want to thank them for everything.”
Thelle gave UH control of the third set with a six-point service turn that included his 120th career ace to move within one of the UH record. Chakas’ back-to-back-to-back aces pushed UH’s lead to 24-17. After UH tried to get Humler a final kill, a UCSD service error ended the match and started the postmatch celebration, which included a ha’a by the team.
“Obviously the block was good. After a really efficient night serving (on Friday) we got a little reckless tonight,” Wade said after the Warriors finished with 18 service errors. “But the guys stayed aggressive and Spyros had a great turn there late.”
UCSD outside hitter Josh Schellinger led the Tritons with 12 kills and Ka added 11.
DARRYL OUMI / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
Hawaii’s Dimitrios Mouchlias, left, Cole Hogland and Chaz Galloway combined to block the shot of UC San Diego’s Ryan Ka during Saturday’s match at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center.
DARRYL OUMI / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
Setter Thelle showed his love and appreciation for the Hawaii fans.
DARRYL OUMI / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
The Hawaii men’s volleyball team performs a haka after Saturday’s match.
DARRYL OUMI / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
Hawaii’s Filip Humler flashes a shaka to the crowd after Saturday’s match.
