No. 1 Hawaii men’s volleyball team goes deep to sweep Belmont Abbey
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hawaii opposite Dimitrios Mouchlias serves the ball against the Saint Francis Red Flash on Friday.
No. 1 Hawaii again relied on its depth to complete a sweep of Belmont Abbey today in Belmont, N.C.
With outside hitter Spyros Chakas sitting out the match, the Rainbow Warriors (6-0) pulled away late in each set in their 25-18, 25-18, 25-21 victory over the Crusaders at a packed Wheeler Arena.
UH opposite Dimitrios Mouchlias put away eight kills in 13 attempts in the first two sets before going to the bench. Outside hitter Chaz Galloway finished with seven kills while playing all three sets and libero Brett Sheward led the UH defense with 11 digs.
Setter Jakob Thelle remained in Hawaii while the team embarked on its first road trip of the season and Austin Buchanan went the distance in his second career start. The sophomore, who played in the first two sets in UH’s sweep of Queens University on Wednesday, delivered back-to-back aces in a 7-0 UH run late in the third set to power the Warriors to the sweep. He finished with 31 assists and a kill.
Chakas led the Warriors with 16 kills on Wednesday but spent the match on the bench due to illness. Keoni Thiim moved into the starting lineup and had five kills in 17 swings in his first UH start.
Freshman middle blocker Kurt Nusterer played the final two sets in place of Guilherme Voss and put away four kills in six swings and had an ace.
Matteo Miselli led Belmont Abbey (1-6) with 12 kills in 32 attempts.
UH closes the trip on Saturday against Barton.
