Men’s Volleyball Opens Outrigger Invite With Sweep

HONOLULU – The University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team overcame a sluggish start to sweep Purdue Fort Wayne Thursday on the opening day of the 27^th OUTRIGGER Invitational at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Set scores were 27-25, 25-13, 25-20.
 
The Rainbow Warriors (16-0) extended their overall win streak to 25 matches which ties the 2019 team for the longest in program history and sixth longest in NCAA Division I-II history. UH also won for the 29^th consecutive time at home.
 
Dimitrios Mouchlias led Hawai’i with a match-high 14 kills, hitting .462 with six digs and five blocks. The Soufli, Greece native had four of the team’s five blocks in the final set. Fellow Greek Spyros Chakas added 12 kills, hitting .409.
 
As a team, the Warriors hit .436 for the match with 7.5 team blocks and three aces. UH held the Mastodons to .211 hitting.
 
Redshirt freshman Kurt Nusterer started in place of Cole Hogland at middle blocker and finished with four kills, hitting .500, and three blocks. Guilherme Voss added six kills in seven errorless attempts and four blocks.
 

#Noose nailed it!#WarriorBall23 #NCAAMVB pic.twitter.com/pw7Oki4zLt

— Hawaii Men’s Volleyball (@HawaiiMensVB) March 10, 2023

 
Carlos Mercardo and Bryce Walker each had nine kills for PFW (12-6).
 
In the third ever meeting between the schools and first since 2000, the Mastodons (12-6) nearly pulled out the first set leading 23-21 before UH scored three straight. Purdue Fort Wayne erased two set points before the Warriors closed out the set with a kill by Voss.
 
Down 8-6 in Set 2, UH scored six unanswered with Mouchlias at the service line for a 12-8 lead. The advantage was nine at 19-10 after the Warriors strung together five more points in a row. Hawai’i out-scored the Mastodons 18-5 to end the set.
 
UH led 12-9 in Set 3 after a Mouchlias-Nusterer double block. The Mastodons then scored four of the next five points to tie it at 13. The Warrior responded right back with four straight and maintained that cushion throughout. An ace by Chakas made it 23-17 and a Mastodon service error ended the match.
 
The tournament, which returned for the first time since 2020, opened with No. 2 UCLA defeating No. 3 Penn State in five sets. Day 2 of the tournament features Purdue Fort Wayne and UCLA in the opening match at 4:00 p.m., followed by UH and Penn State at 7:00 p.m.
 
 

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