HONOLULU — As it prepares to send off some of its most impactful players in program history, the Hawaii men’s volleyball team took in a lesson about appreciating what it has.
The Rainbow Warriors took care of UC San Diego in four sets on Friday night — 28-26, 25-17, 19-25, 25-14 — in front of a Stan Sheriff Center crowd of just over 6,000, then reflected about the connections they have with their supporters.
No. 1 UH (25-2, 8-1 Big West) won its eighth straight match, had a season-high 14 blocks, tossed in eight service aces and rose to the occasion when the Tritons (8-15, 2-7) threatened to make it a long night, but afterward coach Charlie Wade was more eager to talk about something else.
An unnamed fan emailed the team about the recent loss of a child and the catharsis she felt attending one of the team’s matches the previous week against UC Irvine, Wade said.
“I can’t imagine losing a child. But we talk a lot about, ‘What we do matters,’” Wade said. “It means a lot to a lot of people. And we talked about how much the fans mean to us. They mean a lot. They help us a ton. It’s nice to know that sometimes the fans need us as much as we need them.”
Wade shared her story with the team before Friday’s match. He said the fan will attend Saturday’s 7 p.m. senior night rematch against UCSD.
“Hearing a story like that, it makes us want to compete and really show up for all the fans who love watching us play and support us while we play,” said backup hitter Kana‘i Akana, who saw some extended floor time in Set 3 to spell struggling Spyros Chakas. “I think it just shows the level of community we have here in the state of Hawaii.”
UH can lock up the top seed in next week’s Big West tournament in Irvine, Calif. with a victory, even though Long Beach State (8-1) kept pace by sweeping UC Irvine at the Walter Pyramid in the first of two matchups between top-three teams in the conference. LBSU and UCI play again Saturday, this time at the Bren Events Center. However, UH owns the head-to-head tiebreaker with LBSU based on total points from their head-to-head meetings at the Sheriff last month.
After Saturday’s match, UH will honor six players in senior ceremonies: setter Jakob Thelle, opposite Dimitrios Mouchlias, middle Cole Hogland, Akana, utility player Filip Humler and reserve Devon Johnson.
Thelle, Mouchlias and Hogland in particular were instrumental pieces in UH’s back-to-back national championships of 2021 and 2022.
Thelle, dubbed the “unicorn” from Norway, for his all-around impact, was his usual versatile self Friday. He had 39 assists, six blocks and two kills, and a service ace moved him to within three of breaking the UH career record of 121.
Mouchlias put down 13 kills while Chaz Galloway added 11. Middle Guilherme Voss was in on six blocks and Hogland five.
UCSD, behind super senior Ryan Ka, was spunky early, earning two set point opportunities in the first set, during which the visitors hit .600. However, Hogland served UH back to deuce and the ‘Bows prevailed in extra points.
“I kind of just locked in where (on the court) I was going to serve,” said Hogland, who had a pair of aces. “Especially in that first set, we were down two ... I knew first I had to put it in, then bring some heat, because you’re not going to just chip a ball in and play defense. We had to be more offensive at that point because we had our backs against the wall.”
After the Tritons raised their play in Set 3, UH came back with a barrage of tough serves in the fourth to win going away.
“Ttey got back to that consistent pressure and consistent pace, and consistent in the end,” first-year UCSD coach Brad Rostratter said. “Whereas it took us a little longer to get back into rhythm from the service line.”
Ka finished with a match-high 20 kills on 45 swings, albeit with nine attack errors to hit .244.
“I’m sure (Saturday) will be another battle,” Rostratter said. “I’m hoping we can finish the deal when we get some opportunities to win some sets. I told everyone, ‘We’re in the best situation for us to be in at the end of the year.’ We couldn’t be more honored to be out here and excited to have that atmosphere.”
A few more photos from the night:
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.