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Hawaii capped a rare men’s volleyball doubleheader with a remarkable performance from the service line on Friday.
The top-ranked Rainbow Warriors fired 17 aces to match the overall program record and break the rally-scoring mark in a 25-10, 25-11, 25-8 sweep of Queens University in their second win of the day in the First Point Volleyball Foundation Collegiate Challenge in Austin, Texas.
The ace total tied UH’s single-match record set against UC Irvine on March 4, 1995, during the sideout scoring era. The Warriors (6-2) surpassed the program’s rally-scoring record of 14 they set last month in a sweep of Edward Waters.
UH setter Jakob Thelle returned to the starting lineup after missing the Warriors’ matches at Ball State due to health and safety protocols to start their 12-day road trip.
With Thelle running the attack again, the Warriors hit .403 in the 25-10, 25-14, 25-15 win over Fairleigh Dickinson and .371 against Queens. He went back to serve 12 times over the two matches and the Warriors scored 30 points in his 36 total service attempts. The junior delivered four aces in Friday’s opening sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson and another five against Queens and put away seven kills to go along with 49 assists for the day.
“It means everything,” Thelle said of rejoining the team for its stay in Texas. “Just watching those (Ball State) games at home, I felt pretty helpless. … Just being here now with the guys means so much and it’s great to be back again.”
Thelle gave UH control of the opening set against Fairleigh Dickinson with an eight-point service run highlighted by three aces. He set the tone against Queens with two more aces in another eight-point turn to open the match.
“You see so many ways he impacts the game,” UH coach Charlie Wade said in a post-match Zoom session. “The serving is not the least of what we does out there for us. He runs the offense really well, he defends in the frontcourt and the backcourt.
“I’m biased, but he’s the best player in collegiate volleyball right now and we’re definitely a better team with him on the floor.”
Along with the ace numbers, Wade was even more impressed with UH committing just three service errors against Queens as the Warriors served inbounds at 96% while firing aggressively from the line.
UH’s Greek combination on the pins also highlighted Friday’s sweeps. Outside hitter Spyros Chakas led the Warriors with 11 kills against Fairleigh Dickinson and had seven aces against Queens, four coming in a 10-point run in the third set.
Opposite Dimitrios Mouchlias also continued an astounding run with eight kills on 12 swings against FDU and a match-high 11 kills on 14 attempts against Queens. He has no errors in UH’s past three matches and has 40 kills on 65 swings for a .615 hitting percentage over that span.
“Dimi’s a great player and he really likes the fast offense, which I favor, and we’ve been working on it,” Thelle said.
The Warriors also welcomed back middle blocker Guilherme Voss, who like Thelle spent the Ball State series in Honolulu due to health and safety protocols. Voss contributed six kills in nine attempts and was in on six of UH’s 10 blocks against Queens.
UH outside hitter Chaz Galloway remained out of action due to an injury suffered prior to the Ball State series.
Despite playing a split doubleheader, the Warriors figure to be fresh for today’s match against No. 14 Stanford in the finale of the first men’s collegiate volleyball event held in Texas. The Warriors took 75 minutes to close out the win over Fairleigh Dickinson and just 68 against Queens.
The Cardinal (6-2) also swept Fairleigh Dickinson 25-20, 25-16, 25-16 on Friday.
“Multiple guys are youth national team, junior national guys throughout their careers,” Wade said. “(Outside hitter) Will Rottman is one of the best players in college volleyball and we’re going to have to play well to win, for sure.”
Rottman, a 6-foot-6 junior, leads Stanford with 3.57 kills per set on .320 hitting this season.
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First Point Volleyball Foundation Collegiate Challenge
At Austin Convention Center; Austin, Texas
No. 1 Hawaii (6-2) vs. No. 14 Stanford (6-2)
>> When: Today, 2 p.m.
>> TV: Spectrum Sports
>> Radio: 1500-AM
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