IRVINE, Calif. >> Late heroics from McKenna Granato and McKenna Ross saved Hawaii from a historic loss in women’s volleyball Sunday.

Granato amassed season highs of 24 kills, 15 digs and five aces, while Ross provided a career-best 11 kills as the Rainbow Wahine recovered from losing the first two sets to defeat UC Irvine in Big West Conference play in front of 1,154 at the Bren Events Center.

The 23-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-11 victory enabled UH (6-5, 2-0) to remain undefeated against the Anteaters (7-7, 1-1) in 39 matches since the teams began competing against each other in 1975, the second year for the Wahine’s program.

Ross did not play in the first two sets, but head coach Robyn Ah Mow-Santos turned to the junior outside hitter once Irvine stymied Natasha Burns, who compiled three of her nine kills in the first set. With Burns stifled, the Wahine committed 18 hitting errors in the first two sets — 12 of them in the second set alone.

“We changed the lineup, putting Casey (Castillo) on the right and bringing Ross in,” Ah Mow-Santos said. “She’s a shorter blocker than Casey, but she does have a live arm and she’s got defense in her.”

The junior not only responded with 11 kills and only one hitting error in 34 total attacks, but also contributed a season-high nine digs. For the match, UH compiled 99 digs, the most since 2014, when the Wahine recorded 104 — also at UC Irvine.

But Granato made perhaps the most dramatic impact. The senior from Punahou compiled 11 kills in the final two sets while taking personal charge during two pivotal junctures.

After Irvine built a 5-0 lead in the fourth set, UH followed with an 8-0 blitz that Granato led. Granato began the surge by pounding a kill through a block to earn a sideout. Then after Burns and Ross combined to block the Anteaters’ Idara Akpakpa, Granato served two aces.

The senior concluded the spree with a tip at the net and another ace to put UH ahead, 8-5.

Granato’s biggest contribution came during the final set, when she essentially claimed squatter’s rights at the left antenna. She went to work once Castillo forced a 5-5 tie by hammering a kill down the right sideline for a sideout.

Granato struck one kill down the right sideline and another across the court to give the visitors a 7-5 lead. After the hosts forged a 7-7 tie, Granato pounded kills from the left antenna for four points during a 5-0 spree that resulted in a 12-7 advantage.

The more she scored, the more passion and energy Granato demonstrated.

“It’s definitely a feeling,” she said. “You just kind of know when you’re going to get a kill, and when you’re not. You just want to swing at every single ball.”

The more she scored, the more Granato reflected a budding sense of newfound confidence.

“This year, she’s doing a better job of it,” Ah Mow-Santos said about showing intensity. “Usually, when she gets a couple of errors here and there, she’ll go down. But she pulled it together and she’s actually doing really well this year with her confidence level.”

Said Granato: “Last year, it was definitely an extreme for me, and confidence was an issue. When I do get down on myself, it has a huge effect on the next ball, which isn’t necessary because that ball is already over. I think my maturing more was definitely needed, in that sense. It’s definitely been huge. If I keep progressing at that, that’ll definitely help my game and with our team, as well.”

UH had to mature quickly after squandering leads in the first two sets.

The Wahine rallied from a 20-16 deficit to take a 22-21 lead in Set 1, but a lift violation and a combined block from Akpakpa and Abby Marjama put Irvine ahead 23-22. Castillo’s kill earned a sideout and forced the set’s 11th tie, but the Anteaters used Harlee Kekauoha’s kill and Norene Iosia’s hitting error to win.

The second set proved more frustrating. UH took a 6-1 lead before building a 17-10 advantage. But the hosts rallied to tie the score at 20. Sarah Liva’s kill off Iosia’s quick set gave the Wahine a 21-20 lead, then Irvine scored the next three points and five of the final six, with Carter contributing three kills.

As the jubilant Anteaters remained on the court after that second set, Ah Mow-Santos talked to her team in the locker room.

“What did I tell the team? Hashtag, hashtag, hashtag, number sign, number sign, number sign,” Ah Mow-Santos said humorously. “That’s locker room talk. We’re giving the game away. I’ve seen them play better.”

In the third set, both teams tied the score 16 times and exchanged the lead four times before UH took late control.

With the score tied at 22, Castillo’s kill and Rika Okino’s service ace put the Wahine at set point. But Okino’s service error narrowed the margin to one point with Abby Marjama, the Big West’s co-leader in aces, about to serve.

However, Marjama’s hard jump serve sailed long, enabling UH to escape.

“I think the key was to stop playing scared of the environment,” Granato said. “When we lose a couple of points, we tend to tense up. When we’re down two (sets), we don’t have time for that.”

Tita Akiu tied Irvine’s Haley DeSales with game highs of 23 digs, while Iosia and Okino had career bests of 21 and 12 digs, respectively. Iosia also matched her season high of 24 assists, with Faith Ma‘afala passing for 30 assists.