The UCI Men’s Volleyball team (16-8, 6-2) fell to the University of Hawai’i at Manoa Rainbow Warriors (24-2, 7-1), 3-0, at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawai’i on Saturday, April 8.
The ‘Eaters looked to bounce back after a hard-fought 3-1 loss the night before to the Rainbow Warriors. Both teams aimed to keep pace with Cal State Long Beach, who beat Cal State Northridge earlier that same day to jump into first place in the Big West Conference standings.
The first set started off strong for Irvine, as they quickly jumped to an 8-3 lead with two early aces by sophomore outside hitter Hilir Henno. Hawai’i wasted no time in challenging the refs after losing their first challenge on the first point with a verified net violation by their junior middle blocker Guilherme Voss.
After their initial lead, the ‘Eaters began to slip, giving up five points in a row to tie the game, 8-8. UCI redshirt junior outside hitter Cole Gillis, who ended the match with 12 kills, ended the bleeding with a powerful tool off the block, blasting it off of the hands of Hawai’i and into the stands.
The ‘Eaters and the ‘Bows went point for point the entirety of the first set, ending with 16 total ties. Irvine got to set point first with a kill by Gillis on the right side, going up 24-23. However, they failed to capitalize on match point and Hawai’i junior opposite hitter Dimitrios Mouchlias smashed a ball to the floor to force a tie.
The Anteaters had difficulty handling the serve sent over by Hawai’i, but Henno was shut down at the net after a massive block by Hawai’i, sending the ball back to Irvine’s back line and giving the Rainbow Warriors set point.
Hawai’i took set one 26-24 with a booming angle shot through the ‘Eaters block by junior outside hitter/opposite Spyros Chakas.
UCI junior opposite hitter Francesco Sani, who ended the game with a match-high 15 kills, gave Irvine the first point of the second set with a deceptive roll shot over Hawai’i’s block attempt. The second set began to look like set one, with each team matching each other until they tied at 6-6.
Irvine struggled to side out quickly all night and gave up three points to the ‘Bows. Hawai’i continued their pressure from the service line, keeping the ‘Eaters at arm’s length.
UCI fought back to an 18-19 deficit, led by redshirt junior setter Joe Karlous’s match-high 38 assists. Back-to-back service aces led to Hawai’i gaining the momentum back, and ‘Bows junior outside hitter Chaz Galloway solidified the Rainbow Warriors’ 25-20 second set victory with back-to-back aces.
The third set was never close for Irvine. Hawai’i came in hot and full of energy, and although Irvine had more than twice the digs, the ‘Eaters couldn’t find a way to put the ball on the ground around Hawai’i’s wall at the net. The Rainbow Warriors continued to out-pressure Irvine from the service line, scoring eight aces to Irvine’s two. The ‘Bows swiftly handled the ‘Eaters with a third set victory of 25-19, completing the sweep.
Irvine will look to come back strong after this performance with back-to-back matches against Long Beach this coming weekend on April 14-15. The ‘Eaters currently sit at third in the Big West Conference standings with a chance to jump to second place if they sweep Long Beach.
The next match of conference play will take place at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif. at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 14. The ‘Eaters will end their regular season with a home match at the Bren Events Center at 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 15.
Evan Marks is a Sports Intern for the spring 2023 quarter. He can be reached at ecmarks@uci.edu.
