HONOLULU — For a team not accustomed to disappointment, Hawaii has precious little time to get over the sting of its first major setback of the season.
The top-ranked Rainbow Warriors were off all night and No. 3 Penn State was on target for critical hits in a four-set stunner at the Stan Sheriff Center on Friday.
It was a disquieting — and crowd-quieting — outcome for a program and fan base that had gotten used to winning, even against marquee opponents. Facing a no-holds-barred service game from the Nittany Lions, UH’s passing was suspect throughout and it was held to a season-low .250 hitting to PSU’s .302 in the 21-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23 decision.
The emotional response will be just as important as the Xs and Os heading into Saturday night’s marquee matchup with No. 2 UCLA — a team that already bested PSU in the Outrigger Volleyball Invitational in a five-setter on Thursday.
“This group hasn’t faced a lot of adversity for a while, so we gotta buckle down and see how much we have left in the tank tomorrow and come back and play better,” said Charlie Wade, coach of the two-time defending national champions.
“It was pretty obvious that we were just a little off,” he said. “As it went on, off in every way all night.”
UH (16-1) saw its 29-match home winning streak snapped in front of 5,266 (6,557 tickets issued); its last loss in the Sheriff was to UC San Diego in the 2021 Big West tournament. It also ended a run of 25 overall victories, which was tied for the most in program history.
The Nittany Lions (16-2) made several outstanding digs and were not fazed when their strategy of serving tough at all costs came with a heavy price tag in Set 1, when they fired 11 service errors. UH stole the set despite hitting .000 in the frame.
The Lions had only 11 more service errors from there, spread throughout the next three sets, and they tallied seven aces to UH’s four on the night.
“It should give the guys some confidence that we can play with the very best in the country,” Penn State coach Mark Pavlik said.
“We’re comfortable with (the errors). With the way (our guys) can pass the ball, we’re always going to give our offense a chance to get swings.”
The 29th-year coach said the key for them was making sure that UH setter Jakob Thelle was just that — a setter, and not a dual threat at the net with his ability to swing on the second touch.
With UH out of the system much of the night and Thelle scrambling around the court, they largely succeeded; he had just one kill and few direct swings.
“They executed their strategy for sure,” Thelle said. “At the end of the day, you have to receive well, serve well, and… take those big swings.”
UH dug itself a hole to begin each set. It gamely rallied each time, but PSU had the mettle to claim the late points that typically has been the ‘Bows’ province.
Dimitrious Mouchlias, who got off to a dreadful start but improved as it went, fired an ace and put down a kill to knot Set 4 at 23. But the Lions got kills from hitter Michal Kowal and imposing middle Toby Ezeonu to end the match.
PSU’s multifaceted, balanced attack was problematic for UH to stop all night. Four players were in double-figure kills, including Ezeonu, who has a 7-foot-3 wingspan. He finished with 10 kills and five blocks in contributing to the limitation of UH middles Guilherme Voss and Cole Hogland.
Hogland, perhaps still ailing from an illness that kept him out in Thursday’s sweep of Purdue Fort Wayne, was lifted late in Set 3 for Kurt Nusterer. Nusterer’s energy helped UH rally from a nine-point hole, but the hole was too deep to escape.
Mouchlias finished with 16 kills and six errors on 30 swings (.333). His Greek countryman Spyros Chakas was uncharacteristically off the mark with six errors as well, to go with 14 kills (.222).
UCLA (19-1) dispatched Purdue Fort Wayne in three on Friday, hitting .463.
“Anything is possible. Good teams get beat by good teams,” Thelle said. “That’s just how it is. So it’s our chance tomorrow to come back.”
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.