HONOLULU, Hawaii – No. 3 Penn State men's volleyball handed No. 1 Hawaii its first loss of the season Friday night, beating the Rainbow Warriors 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23) on their home court at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Nittany Lions upped their record to 16-2, while the Rainbow Warriors dropped to 16-1.
Penn State ended Hawaii's 25-match winning streak that dated back to April 2, 2022, and halted the Warriors' 29-match home winning streak that dated back to April 23, 2021.
Cal Fisher recorded his first double-double of the season, hitting .385 with 12 kills, 10 digs, three aces and three blocks. It marked the sixth double-double of his career.
The Lions had four players reach double-digits in kills. Joining Fisher were Michal Kowal with 12, Brett Wildman with 11, and Toby Ezeonu with 10. Ezeonu racked up his kills while hitting .583 and added five blocks. Owen Rose was next behind that group with six kills in addition to his three blocks.
Penn State received great performances from the setter and libero positions. Cole Bogner finished with 45 assists while leading the Lions to .302 hitting as a team. Ryan Merk had seven digs and led his team's stellar passing throughout the match.
Dimitrio Mouchlias paced Hawaii with 16 kills on .333 hitting. Spyros Chakas was right behind him with 14 kills. Chakas was the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player last year after leading the Warriors to their second straight national title.
Friday's win was Penn State's first over a team ranked No. 1 in the nation since the Lions beat top-ranked Ohio State in five sets on March 28, 2017.
Penn State improved to 7-2 against nationally-ranked opponents this season, including a 6-2 mark against teams that were ranked in the top 10 at the time of the match. The Lions have played three straight matches against teams ranked in the top six of the most recent AVCA Coaches Poll.
Set 1
Hawaii pulled out a 25-21 win in the opening set despite totaling just six kills on .000 hitting as it added three points on blocks and 11 on Penn State service errors. The score was tied at 20-20 following a kill by Kowal, but the Warriors scored five of the final six points to go up 1-0 in the match. Chakas started the final run with a pair of kills.
Set 2
Penn State bounced back with a 25-23 win in set two behind five kills apiece from Wildman and Fisher. Wildman's five kills came on .714 hitting, while Fisher's came in addition to a pair of aces. This time the score was tied as late as 22-22. The Lions took the lead on a Hawaii attack error and then went up two on a kill by Wildman. The Warriors stayed alive on a service error, but Rose came through with a kill to tie the match.
Set 3
Penn State hit .375 behind 11 assists from Bogner as it took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-21 win in set three. Bogner set Ezeonu and Kowal for four kills apiece, with Ezeonu's four kills coming on five swings for an .800 hitting percentage. Meanwhile, Fisher was doing work defensively with seven digs to help hold Hawaii to .229 hitting in the set. The Lions led by as much as nine at 20-11 after a 3-0 run that included kills by Ezeonu and Wildman. The Warriors fought back to get as close as three a few different times late. Ezeonu eventually clinched the set with a kill.
Set 4
Kowal hit .500 with five kills and four digs to fuel Penn State's 25-23 win in the final set. The Lions held a slight edge most of the way until Hawaii used a 3-0 run to tie the score at 17-17. The Lions went back up two with a service error and a kill by Kowal. The Warriors used another 3-0 run to tie the score at 23-23, but Penn State responded well again. Kowal put the Lions back up one with a kill. He then had a serve that resulted in an over pass and a kill by Ezeonu off a set from Bogner to give the Lions the win.
Up Next
Penn State closes the Outrigger Invitational with a match against Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday at 9 p.m. ET. The Mastodons, who received votes in the latest national poll, are 12-7 following 3-0 losses to No.1 Hawaii and No. 2 UCLA this week.
