No. 1 Hawaii men’s volleyball team rallies past No. 14 Stanford in Texas

After dropping the opening set against No. 14 Stanford, top-ranked Hawaii didn’t trail again in a four-set victory over the Cardinal today in the finale of the First Point Volleyball Foundation Collegiate Challenge in Austin, Texas.

UH opposite Dimitrios Mouchlias saw his run of three error-free matches end on his first swing of the match but recovered to lead the Rainbow Warriors (7-2) to a 19-25, 25-13, 25-19, 25-20 win with 18 kills on 38 attempts. The sophomore was also in on five of UH’s 11 blocks in the win at the Austin Convention Center.

Outside hitter Spyros Chakas added 13 kills and fired his third ace on match point. UH outside hitter Kana’i Akana posted career highs with seven kills and 10 digs.

UH setter Jakob Thelle had 38 assists, six digs and an ace and was in on four blocks.

The Warriors went 3-0 in the first collegiate men’s volleyball event in Texas to close out a 12-day road trip.

UH hit .083 in the first set and dropped a set to Stanford for the first time since 2016, having swept the previous six meetings with the Cardinal.

Thelle opened the second set with a seven-point run at the service line and the Warriors allowed just one point on Stanford’s serve in the set to even the match.

Chakas had two kills and an ace in a 7-1 UH surge to open the third set and the Warriors later pulled away with a 4-0 run to take a 22-15 lead.

The fourth set was tight until a triple block by Mouchlias, Akana and Guilherme Voss triggered a 5-0 UH run that included a Chakas ace. The Warriors were able to fend off the Cardinal the rest of the way, with Chakas ending the match with an ace.

Will Rottman led Stanford (6-3) with 15 kills on .064 hitting. Middle blocker Ethan Hill added 13 kills while hitting .632.

The Warriors return home and start a three-match series with Long Island on Tuesday at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.