Ft Wayne Times

Mastodon MVB Shows Potential Against No. 1 Hawaii

The Purdue Fort Wayne men's volleyball team opened the Outrigger Invitational with a date with the No. 1 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, falling 3-0 (27-25, 25-13, 25-20) late Thursday night (March 9).

The Mastodons gave the best team in the country everything it could ask for in the opening set. There were 11 ties and five lead changes in the first frame alone. After a well-timed timeout by Purdue Fort Wayne, Carlos Mercado got a kill that tied the set at 24 and sent it to extras. Jon Diedrich held off a set point with a kill, but the Rainbow Warriors converted some big kills to go up 1-0.

After an 8-8 tie, set two was all in favor of the home team. It was a 17-5 Hawaii extended run from there.

The third set looked similar to the first for about 26 points. The two teams were tied at 13 before Hawaii could string together four in a row.

Hawaii proved why it is the best team in the country. The Rainbow Warriors' service pressure, defense and transition game were immaculate, particularly in sets two and three. Hawaii hit .436 as a team. Dimitrio Mouchlias and Spyros Chakas had 14 and 12 kills, respectively.

Mercado played arguably the best match of his career. The Puerto Rico native finished with a career-high nine kills. Bryce Walker had five kills in his first six attempts, then finished with nine kills and three aces.

Purdue Fort Wayne falls to 12-6 while Hawaii stays unbeaten at 16-0. The Mastodons will play No. 2 UCLA on Friday (March 10) at 9 p.m. ET.

Original source can be found here.