Film study has become part of Dimitrios Mouchlias’ postmatch routine and it took a second look for the Hawaii opposite to decipher one of the highlight sequences of last week’s Outrigger Volleyball Invitational.
In the third set of last Saturday’s duel between the top-ranked Rainbow Warriors and then-No. 2 UCLA, a Mouchlias attack produced a split-second triple-thud — the ball coming first off his hand, then off the UCLA block, and bouncing against the side of his head before floating back over the net.
“OK, so I didn’t realize it at first,” Mouchlias said in reviewing the play. “I’m hitting the ball, I’m getting blocked and all of a sudden someone hits me in the face, that’s what I remember.
“And then I see that the ball is on the other side, ‘OK let’s keep playing.’”
Perhaps still shaking off the blow, Mouchlias retreated behind the 3-meter line to take his approach on a set from Jakob Thelle and this time pounded a shot down the line for perhaps the most memorable of his season-high 22 kills.
After UH’s rousing four-set win over the Bruins, “I watched the video and I’m like, ‘oh that’s sick.’ That’s so lucky.”
The headsy save aside, there wasn’t much luck involved in a three-match performance that earned Mouchlias the Outrigger Invitational’s Most Outstanding Player award and his second Big West Offensive Player of the Week honor.
He led the Warriors (17-1) — who enter the week ranked No. 1 in the AVCA coaches poll and No. 2 in the Off The Block media poll — in kills in each of UH’s three Outrigger matches, averaging 4.73 per set while hitting .392 and enters tonight’s Big West opener against No. 4 Long Beach State (11-2, 2-0 BWC) second in the conference in kills per set and hitting percentage.
The 6-foot-6 junior from Soufli, Greece, averages 3.94 kills per set, trailing only countryman and UH outside hitter Spyros Chakas’ 4.00. His hitting percentage of .396 is just behind Beach outside hitter Spencer Olivier’s .398.
Although Mouchlias led the Warriors with 16 kills on .333 hitting in last Friday’s match with Penn State, he wasn’t all that pleased with his performance following UH’s first loss of the season.
“He was one of the guys who came up to me early on Saturday at our practice and was pretty convincing that he was going to play better on Saturday night than he did on Friday,” UH coach Charlie Wade said. “He walked right up to me and told me he was going to play better. Didn’t have to read much into it, he was pretty locked in.”
The Warriors indeed bounced back with the win over UCLA at a sold out SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center and Mouchlias’ individual resilience has been a feature of his game since UH’s last regular-season series with Long Beach State.
Mouchlias had a total of nine kills and 10 errors in UH’s two losses at LBSU’s Walter Pyramid last season. He didn’t finish below double figure kills in the Warriors’ remaining nine matches in their march to a second straight national championship and put away 11 on 22 error-free swings in the NCAA final against the Beach.
“I was trying to prove to myself that I’m strong enough mentally to bounce back,” Mouchlias said.
Said Wade: “After (the LBSU series) he really committed to staying focused, he started watching a lot of film and just had his mind in a really good place and played great the rest of the year.”
Mouchlias said he didn’t watch much video of his matches in Greece, simply because there weren’t many cameras in the gyms. Since joining the UH program, he has the resources to review his performances shortly after each match to complement the Warriors’ collective film sessions.
“It really helps me after games just watch myself and where (the opponents are) blocking, what kind of movements they do, what are the open areas on the court,” he said. “So that’s really helpful here to have all this media here and all this coverage.”
Mouchlias has also savored playing in front of UH crowds such as last week’s frenzied sellout, and is impressed with the creativity of the folks who show up with signs and posters dedicated to individual players. One sign last weekend was designed as a bag of “Mouchi Crunch.”
“To honest, I was getting goosebumps,” Mouchlias said of the atmosphere in the arena last Saturday. “I’ll remember it for the rest of my life, definitely.”
Big West men’s volleyball
At SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
No. 4 Long Beach State (11-2, 2-0 BWC) vs. No. 1 Hawaii (17-1, 0-0)
>> When: Today and Saturday, 7 p.m.
>> TV: Spectrum Sports
>> Radio: 1420-AM / 92.7-FM
