Men’s Volleyball Captures OUTRIGGER Invitational Title For 11th Time

HONOLULU – The third-ranked University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team outlasted No. 5 UC Irvine in five sets to capture its 11^th OUTRIGGER Invitational title Sunday at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Set scores were 23-25, 25-19, 25-22, 17-25, 15-13.
 
The Rainbow Warriors (17-1) extended several streaks with the victory including a 16-match overall win streak and 13 straight home contests. UH also won for the 15^th consecutive time over the Anteaters dating back to 2018. However, Hawai’i saw its 24-set win streak come to an end after UCI took the opening set.
 
Tournament Most Outstanding Player Spyros Chakas led the Warriors with 17 kills but the senior went down late in the fifth set with an apparent injury. Hawai’i led 14-12 at the time but still managed to secure the victory after a kill by Guilherme Voss on its fourth attempt at the match. Chakas also recorded eight digs and three blocks.
 
Voss and Alaka’i Todd were also named to the all-tournament team. Voss finished the match with eight kills and five blocks while Todd added 13 kills, six digs, and four blocks.

LET HIM COOK ???? pic.twitter.com/RPEWz79LDr

— Hawaii Men’s Volleyball (@HawaiiMensVB) March 11, 2024

 
The Anteaters (13-6) nearly pulled off the upset behind the play of Hilir Henno, who recorded a match-high 36 kills, hitting .412. Henno, who finished the tournament with 89 kills in 175 attempts, also added three aces, six digs, and two blocks on Sunday. He along with teammate Max Grigoriev were also named to the all-tournament team. Grigoriev finished the match with nine kills and six blocks.
 
UCI hit .299 for the match compared to UH’s .258 however the Warriors controlled the net, out-blocking the Anteaters, 17 to 10. Hawai’i also had the advantage at the service line with nine aces, including five by serving sensation Keoni Thiim.
 
Thiim, who came off the bench but started Sets 2-5, served his fifth…