In a rematch of both the 2022 national championship and Big West Conference championship matches, the No. 1 University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team was swept by No. 4 Long Beach State 25-20, 29-27, 25-22 on Friday night at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

After Hawaii swept LBSU to claim conference and national titles in 2022, The Beach turned the tables on the ‘Bows on Friday in the first meeting of the year between the two teams.

Hawaii drops to 17-2 for the 2023 season, while Long Beach State improves to 12-2.

After The Beach took Set 1 convincingly, Hawaii appeared to win the second set 26-24, but a challenge call by Long Beach State was successful. The Beach then rallied to stun the Rainbow Warriors with a 29-27 victory in Set 2, staving off four set points in the second set to give UH its first 2-0 set deficit of the season. Although Hawaii tied the third set at 18, Long Beach State pulled away to finish the victory.

Hawaii had not been swept since Jan. 29, 2022 at Ball State. Additionally, the ‘Bows had not lost in straight sets at home since a loss to BYU on March 5, 2020.

Senior outside hitter/opposite Filip Humler was the most notable absence for UH on Friday. Following the match, Hawaii head coach Charlie Wade said the team did not practice as a full squad all week due to sickness and injury, though he emphasized he was not making an excuse for the team.

As for the available players, Dimitrios Mouchlias had a team-high 15 kills for Hawaii, while Jakob Thelle had 15 kills.

For Long Beach State, Sotiris Siapanis had a match-high 19 kills, while Aidan Knipe, the son of LBSU head coach Alan Knipe, distributed a match-high 43 assists.

The Beach and the ‘Bows will close out their series on Saturday night at 7 p.m.