The No. 1 University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team lost for the first time in 2023, falling to Penn State 21-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23 on Friday night at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

Hawaii falls to 16-1 overall, while Penn State improves to 16-2.

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A quick 10-4 run to start the first set for the Nittany Lions was thwarted by the Rainbow Warriors, but it was all Penn State from there, edging Hawaii three straight times to hand them its first regular season home loss since 2020 against BYU.

A balanced attack for Penn State kept Hawaii honest, as four players registered in double digits in the kills column, with Michal Kowal and Cal Fisher leading the way with 12 each. Setter Cole Bogner paced the PSU attack with a match-high 45 assists.

For Hawaii, Dimitrios Mouchlias had a match-high 16 kills while Spyros Chakas added 14. However, the ‘Bows had 16 costly serving errors as a team.

Hawaii will face No. 2 UCLA on Saturday night to close out the Outrigger Volleyball Invitational. First serve is set for 7 p.m.