Hawaii sweeps Long Beach State to defend NCAA volleyball title

The Hawaii men’s volleyball team swept Long Beach State today for its second consecutive NCAA championship.

The Warriors won 25-22, 25-21, 25-20 at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.

Spyros Chakas put down 14 kills to lead UH. Chakas was named the tournament’s most outstanding player, and teammates Dimitrius Mouchlias and Jakob Thelle joined him on the all-tournament team.

Hawaii avenged a 2019 finals loss to the Beach. UH swept BYU last year for the championship.

UH also swept LBSU last month in the Big West Conference championship match, after Long Beach State beat visiting Hawaii twice during the regular season.

The Warriors finished at 27-5 and the Beach finished 21-6.

LBSU freshman Alex Nikolov, the national player of the year, was match-high with 20 kills.

But Hawaii was more balanced.

The first set was back-and-forth until a three-point surge put UH ahead 17-14, and the Warriors never trailed again in the set. Cole Hogland won a joust, and shared a block with Chakas, sandwiching a kill from Chakas.

Chakas led the Warriors with six kills in the first set.

The Beach led the second set 9-4. But Hawaii dominated the rest of the set.

Chaz Galloway’s dive into the stands saved a ball during a long rally that ended with a UH point and a 10-10 tie.

A kill from Mouchlias closed out the set, as Hawaii took five of the last seven points.

Hawaii never trailed in the third set after going up 17-16 on a Chakas kill, and closed out the match on an LBSU net violation.