FAIRFAX, VA. >> In an arena 4,800 miles from home, the journey took precedence over the destination.
After having a two-year reign as national champion end with a four-set loss to UCLA on Saturday, the University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team will make the trek back to Honolulu today without the national championship trophy, but will carry the memory of a historic four-year run.
The Rainbow Warriors’ bid for a third consecutive national championship was thwarted by the last school to accomplish the feat, as UCLA celebrated a 28-26, 31-33, 25-21, 25-21 victory in the final of the National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship at EagleBank Arena on the campus of George Mason University.
UCLA’s high-risk, high-reward serving philosophy produced 10 aces to UH’s three and the Bruins overcame 22 service errors to remain the last program to win three straight titles, claiming four from 1981 to ’84.
Saturday’s match marked UH’s fourth straight appearance in the NCAA final, the longest such streak since UCLA played for the championship six straight years from 1993 to ’98, including a win over the Warriors in 1996 at Pauley Pavilion.
But for UH coach Charlie Wade, the impact of UH’s run starting in the 2019 season spilled beyond a 116-13 record, back-to-back national championships and the four finals appearances.
“Really historic what these guys have been able to do in terms of winning,” Wade said in an emotional postmatch press conference. “But more than that, what they’ve been able to do in our community.
“They really have created something that I would call generational in terms of the support and the aloha they have built and how much pride and joy the people in the state of Hawaii take in supporting this team and watching them compete.
“One match at the end of a long season … is not going to define us. What’s going to define us is the character that these young men bring every day to practice and bring as they represent the university.”
A Hawaii contingent that had grown since Thursday’s five-set semifinal win over Penn State powered an electric atmosphere in EagleBank Arena for an East Coast matchup of teams from Manoa and Westwood.
The Warriors and Bruins kept the crowd of 6,942 on edge in splitting two tension-packed sets.
UCLA erased a 23-20 UH lead in the opener and survived two set points before taking it in overtime on two of opposite Ido David’s season-high 23 kills.
UH then rallied from a 19-13 deficit to claim a second set that featured 16 ties and five lead changes. The Warriors had eight serves for set point before UH’s Greek duo of Spyros Chakas and Dimitrios Mouchlias put away the final two kills of the marathon.
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UCLA (31-2) then held off the Warriors late in the third and fourth sets to capture the program’s 20th national championship and first since 2006. The Bruins closed the season with a 12-match winning streak after falling to UH in four sets on March 11 in the finale of the Outrigger Volleyball Invitational.
“Just had to fight for every single point, Hawaii was never out of it,” UCLA coach John Speraw said. “You could see their maturity and experience on the court because they never seemed rattled. They always kept coming and coming and coming.
“I felt like there was a chance the fourth set could have gone into overtime. There was a chance we could be playing five. It was just that even the whole night.”
Hawaii closed its season at 29-3 when a challenge review upheld UCLA outside hitter Ethan Champlin’s kill of an overpass on match point.
With UH aiming for a final charge in the fourth set, David chased a shanked pass into the Bruins’ bench area to allow the Bruins to send over a free ball. The ensuing pass floated above the net and Champlin slapped the ball off a UH defender and into the crowd. The Bruins were piled on the court when Wade issued the challenge looking for a net violation, but the appeal was denied to reignite the Bruins’ celebration.
“We respect every team, and UCLA, they’re a great team with a great coaching staff and great players,” Mouchlias said. “We just tried our best. In sports you don’t always win — sometimes you lose too, and today was one of those days for us. But we’re proud of ourselves, that’s for sure. We’re proud of what we did.”
UCLA outside hitter and tournament MVP Alex Knight complemented David with 15 kills, and middle blocker Merrick McHenry repeatedly hit over the UH block to finish with 11 kills in 16 attacks.
“I thought their serve receive was exceptional and the matchup in the middle we didn’t really have much of an answer for,” Wade said. “I thought we had some good touches, didn’t transition them, but (UCLA) made plays. so congrats to them.”
But the spotlight belonged to sixth-year middle blocker J.R. Norris IV, who didn’t see any court time in the Bruins’ semifinal sweep of Long Beach State on Thursday. Against UH, Norris went 8-for-11 without an error and fired a career-high five of UCLA’s 10 aces, four coming in the clinching fourth set.
“Honestly, I was just trying to stay in the moment and not get too big picture,” Norris said. “What I was telling myself on the court was to be up early and do anything I could just to help out with the team in any way possible.”
Mouchlias led the Warriors with 18 kills in his final collegiate match and setter Jakob Thelle dished out 50 assists to close out his decorated career with the two-time national champions. Both represented UH on the All-Tournament team.
Thelle, a two-time Big West Player of the Year, was named the AVCA National Player of the Year on Wednesday, and had a perspective on the big picture even amid the tears of the moment.
“It’s been a ride, I’m just so proud of everybody. I’ll leave Hawaii with a smile on my face,” Thelle said.
“It’s not the way we wanted to end things, but there’s still so many good memories to look back to and memories that will stay for life.”
Chakas finished with 12 kills and junior outside hitter Chaz Galloway finished with 11. Middle blocker Guilherme Voss, another one of next season’s returnees, finished with eight kills and Cole Hogland closed his UH career with six kills on eight error-free swings and six blocks, including a one-handed “kong block” in the first set.
“The overall success is there, but tonight UCLA played their tails off, credit to them for coming out and firing,” Hogland said.
“It’s a humbling experience to lose in the final. Tough match, but I know the guys are going to learn from it and come back harder next year.”
