IRVINE, Calif. >> Dimitrios Mouchlias called his shot.
Before going back to the service line with Hawaii holding match point in the Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship final, the Rainbow Warrior opposite let his teammates know exactly what to expect.
“I was feeling good,” Mouchlias said, “and I told the guys, ‘Be ready for the overpass because I’m going to hit it as hard as I can.’ ”
After taking his customary deep inhale and exhale, Mouchlias indeed drilled his jump serve down the line and the reception floated toward a waiting Chaz Galloway at the net. Galloway pushed the ball past UC Irvine setter Joe Karlous to cap a four-set duel with UC Irvine and seal the top-seeded Warriors’ second straight conference tournament title.
“I saw it and it happened in slow motion,” Galloway said. “I was, ‘Just go up and be aggressive,’ and that’s what I did and we got the point.
“We work so hard for this, we’re not done obviously, it’s not our end goal, but it feels good to see that ball land and all the work you put in shows right then and there.”
The final kill triggered a celebration on the court and in the stands in UC Irvine’s Bren Events Center, as the two-time defending national champion Warriors secured an opportunity to make it three in a row with the 25-18, 21-25, 25-13, 25-22 win over the host Anteaters.
The Warriors (28-2) tied the program’s single-season wins record while earning the Big West’s automatic bid to the National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship in Fairfax, Va. UH will take an 11-match winning streak into the tournament scheduled for April 30-May 6 at George Mason’s EagleBank Arena.
The bracket will be revealed at 7 a.m. today on the tournament’s selection show on NCAA.com, and the Warriors will learn of their seeding after landing in Honolulu with the program’s third Big West trophy.
“Whatever happens, happens,” UH middle blocker Cole Hogland said of the Warriors’ seeding, “and we’ll go to Virginia and we’ll go play ball.”
Mouchlias led the Warriors with 17 kills, and his serve on match point set up Galloway’s 13th kill before a raucous crowd of 4,064 in the 5,000-seat arena, which tilted heavily to visiting UH.
“I can’t say it’s exactly like home, but the energy in the arena was insane,” Galloway said. “Hearing the ‘Rain-Bows’ and the, ‘UCI’ going back and forth, it felt organic and it felt really good to be playing in that environment.”
UH setter Jakob Thelle was named the tournament MVP after directing an attack that hit .330 to UCI’s .160. The senior finished with 47 assists, two kills and five block assists. His service turn in an 8-0 UH run to open the third set flipped the momentum after UC Irvine handed UH its first set loss in 11 road matches this season to even the match.
“We knew they were going to come back after losing (the first) set,” Thelle said. “For them it’s survival, so they have to bring their best game and we just prepared for that.
“For me serving, it was just being aggressive and keeping the ball in play so I allow my team to play good defense.”
UH’s work at the net, whether scoring on a season-high 17 blocks or slowing down a UCI attack led by Hilir Henno (17 kills) and Francesco Sani (13), contributed to a defensive effort that also produced 36 digs. UH outside hitter Spyros Chakas finished with nine kills and 10 digs and libero Brett Sheward added nine digs and handled 20 serve receptions without an error.
“They’re really crafty in their hitting and their tipping, but we were just in the right spot at the right time with a well-formed block,” Hogland said. “And touching balls was a key thing to help us win knowing Henno and Sani are absolute hammahs.”
Hogland tied a season high with eight blocks and also converted on all seven of his attacks.
“Can’t say enough about that guy, literally a guy nobody recruited,” UH coach Charlie Wade said. “Local boy from Waimanalo that’s starting and playing on the best team in the country and super stoked for him and proud of just his evolution as a young man and as a player. “
The Warriors took control of the first set from the service line, with Chakas delivering back-to-back aces and serving specialist Keoni Thiim also firing consecutive aces in a five-point service turn that highlighted a 14-3 run that opened up a 22-13 lead.
“Our serving kind of defines us,” Wade said. “We try to be really aggressive and be more efficient than our opponent, and that was a nice example of guys going back and having a good turn and blowing a set open.”
UCI closed the second set with a 6-2 run to even the match, but the Warriors responded with Thelle’s extended service turn to trigger a rout in the third. UH led 21-18 in the fourth set before Henno put away consecutive kills and Sani drilled his second ace to tie the set.
Mouchlias scored off the block to give UH the lead again, then came up with a diving dig, leading to a Galloway kill to give UH match point.
“Dimi came up to me before he served it and he was like, ‘I’m going to kill this ball and it’s going to be an overpass,’ and to hit it,” Galloway said.
UC Irvine (18-11), which played for a third straight night, will hope to receive one of the two at-large berths into the seven-team NCAA bracket, as will Long Beach State, which lost to the Anteaters in the semifinals on Friday.
“There’s no doubt in my mind we’re one of the top five teams in the country,” UCI coach David Kniffin said. “It’s been fun to watch and I’m hopeful the season doesn’t end here.”
