Hawaii men’s volleyball team rallies past UC Irvine in exhibition

The University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team rallied past UC Irvine on Friday to remain perfect in its series of fall exhibitions in Southern California.

UH dropped the first set 27-25 to the Anteaters, but went on to win the next three 25-17, 25-15, 25-22. The teams agreed to play a fifth set, with UC Irvine winning 25-19.

Although statistics weren’t available, UH coach Charlie Wade noted solid performances from sophomore outside hitter Chaz Galloway both hitting and in serve receive, as well as setter Jakob Thelle and middle blocker Guilherme Voss.

Wade said Thelle is also developing a connection with middle Kyler Presho, a transfer from Stanford, and sophomore opposite Dimitrios Mouchlias, who sat out last season to rehab an injury.

“They work on it in practice, but doing it in live games is always more valuable,” Wade said. “That’s been good to see and we’ve gotten a little bit better each day.”

The defending national champion Warriors close their trip today with matches against UCLA and Pepperdine at the UCLA Student Activities Center.

“We played 17 sets total in the last three days, so we’re getting lots of good volleyball in,” Wade said. “We can’t simulate playing against a real opponent in a live situation like that, so it’s really valuable.”