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LOS ANGELES - Reigning national champion and top-ranked Hawai’i began its title defense by sweeping upstart North Greenville in an opening-round match of the 2022 National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship Tuesday night inside Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Set scores were 25-15, 25-17 and 25-16.
A seventh consecutive victory improves Hawai’i i to 25-5. North Greenville, located in Tigerville, S.C., has its remarkable campaign ended at 21-6. The Crusaders were winners of a season-high eight straight coming in. Both teams are automatic qualifiers, UH as the second-time Big West Championship victor and NGU as the first-time Conference Carolinas champion.
Hawai’i returns to the national semifinals, and will take on fourth-ranked No. 2 national seed Ball State (23-3) this Thursday, May 5, at 7:30 p.m. PT/4:30 p.m. HT at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
Hawai’i scored the first three points of the night through a Dimitrios Mouchlias kill, Jakob Thelle ace and Crusader attack error. NGU never got back to within a point the rest of the frame. A 7-0 stretch that featured two more Mouchlias kills and Thelle aces, made it an insurmountable bulge at 16-6. A service error ended the first set.
North Greenville tallied the first two points of the second for its first lead of the contest, getting a kill and an ace back-to-back by Michael de la Cruz. UH went up for the first time at 4-3 on a combination block by Mouchlias and Cole Hogland. The frame was tied at every point from 2-2 to 6-6 before a fourth service error already in the set, and a Spyros Chakas kill, gave the Rainbow Warriors their first two-point edge.
Another stuff block by Thelle and Guilherme Voss, followed by a solo denial by Voss, both on de la Cruz, grew the run to 4-0 and lead to 10-6. A UH service mistake preceded a 3-0 spurt with kills by Mouchlias and Voss around a solo stuff by Chakas, for a decisive 13-7 margin. It was no closer than five from there. A late 4-0 run was punctuated by the night’s first triple block, again on de la Cruz, by Chakas, Hogland and Thelle. Kills by Mouchlias and Chakas put UH in command, 2-0.
Again at the start of the third, it was 2-0 NGU and then 2-2 and 3-3. A 3-0 UH run gave it a 5-3 edge. There was one final tie at 6-6, but a Mouchlias kill and combo block by Hogland and Chaz Galloway gave the Rainbow Warriors a lead they would not relinquish. Another 3-0 stretch, with kills by Galloway and Chakas around a block by Mouchlias and Voss, made it 15-10. Following a 15th Crusader service mistake, Galloway and Voss sent Gregory Torres away on match point.
Thelle, the Big West Player of the Year and Big West Championship Most Valuable Player, collected 26 assists, a match-high four aces, three kills, three blocks and three digs, while setting the Rainbow Warriors to an attack rate of .429 (36-9-63). Chakas shared the match high of 12 kills on .588 (12-2-17) hitting, adding three blocks (one solo), four digs and the other UH ace. Mouchlias joined him in double figures with 10 kills at a .500 (10-2-16) clip. The sophomore opposite also had a team-high five digs and two block assists. Voss produced two kills and a match-best six total blocks (one solo).
Torres, a freshman who was the Conference Carolinas Tournament Most Valuable Player, led NGU with 12 kills, but hit just .097 (12-9-31). Setter Sergio Carrillo wound up with 20 assists and three digs.
UH held a 10.5-4.5 blocking advantage, including 5.5-2.5 in the second, when the teams combined for 14 service errors, seven by each.
Tuesday marked the first ever meeting between the programs. The Crusaders had swept No. 14 Princeton in their National Collegiate Championship debut on Sunday. The Rainbow Warriors are now an even 6-6 all-time over their seven appearances.
Thursday’s first national semifinal will pit The Big West’s other representative, second-ranked No. 1 seed Long Beach State (20-5), against third-ranked host UCLA (22-4). The Bruins cruised past fifth-ranked Pepperdine in four sets in Tuesday’s early opening-round tilt.