HONOLULU – The top-ranked University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team celebrated its 2022 national championship with a dominant straight set win over seventh-ranked Pepperdine, Saturday at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Set scores were 25-19, 25-18, 25-21.
 
The Rainbow Warriors (15-0) remained perfect on the year and extended their overall win streak to 23 matches; home win streak to 28 matches; and regular season home win streak to 32 matches. UH also won for the 13^th consecutive time over the Wave in Honolulu dating back to 2010.
 
Following the match, the team received their 2022 NCAA Championship rings during a post-match ceremony in front of a season-high crowd of 7,452. Fans flocked SimpliFi Arena as the first 3,000 received a free commemorative coin.

Spyros Chakas led UH with a match-high 15 kills, hitting .591 with two aces and two blocks. Fellow Greek Dimitrios Mouchlias added seven kills and five blocks while middle blockers Cole Hogland and Guilherme Voss each tallied six kills, while combining to hit .733. Voss led the team with eight blocks.
 
As a team, UH hit .405 with 11 team blocks and six aces.
 
After tallying 26 kills in a four-set loss on Wednesday, Jaylen Jasper was limited to only 11 kills. The Waves (10-8) hit .260 as a team.
 

At the top and it feels so good! 💯#WarriorBall23 #NCAAMVB pic.twitter.com/PfVLpgYgWR

— Hawaii Men's Volleyball (@HawaiiMensVB) March 4, 2023

 
UH took an early 5-1 lead in Set 1 before the Waves tied it at 8-8. UH surged ahead 14-10 after back-to-back aces by Thelle. The Warriors led 19-14 after Thelle's second kill and closed out the set hitting .524 with 4.5 blocks.
 
Hawai'i jumped out to a 6-2 lead in Set 2 after back-to-back aces by Chakas. The Waves tied it at 9-9 but the Warriors responded with three straight and a 5-1 run made it 14-10. The lead was 17-12 after a Hogland kill. A kill by Chakas capped a 5-2 run for a 22-16 lead. UH scored the final three points of the set and held the Waves to .000 hitting in the set.
 
Teams traded side-outs to start Set 3 before the Waves took a 10-8 lead. UH regained the lead at 13-12 with a block on Jasper. An extended 8-1 run made it 18-13 which included Thelle's fourth ace. The Warriors traded side-outs the rest of the way and the match ended on a challenge of a Pepperdine foot fault.
 
The Warriors will next host the Outrigger Volleyball Invitational, March 9-11 which features UCLA, Penn State, and Purdue Fort Wayne. Matches begin at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. each day.