Wahine take out fierce foe

Hawaii vs. Long Beach State in volleyball going five.

Could it be any other way?

Sunday was just another marathon chapter in the storied rivalry, this one taking more than two hours and often taking the breath away from the 7,086 in the Stan Sheriff Center.

But unlike last season when both five-setters were won by the 49ers, this time the Rainbow Wahine pulled it out in much the same fashion as they did four weeks ago when they rallied past then-No. 2 Florida in five.

Led by a balanced attack in which three outside hitters finished with 12 kills apiece and a block that proved it was indeed No. 1 in the country with 20 stuffs, No. 8 Hawaii (16-1, 6-0 Big West) won its 11th straight by turning back Long Beach State, 22-25, 25-12, 16-25, 25-21, 15-8.

Senior Tai Manu-Olevao, junior Nikki Taylor and sophomore Kalei Greeley each had a dozen kills, and reserve sophomore setter Kendra Koelsch came within a block of a triple-double in her third career start after replacing the injured Tayler Higgins. Junior hitter Nele Barber, a transfer from Marquette, finished with 16 kills to lead the 49ers (14-5, 4-2) in her first appearance in Honolulu.

“It’s nice to have a bench that is so deep and can take care of business,” Greeley said. “I think we needed to be more steady tonight. It felt like a roller coaster.”

It was quite the ride for both teams, trading momentum and moments of magic with mediocrity. After two hours and eight minutes, it was the Rainbow Wahine who left with their winning streak and perfect Big West record intact.

Senior middle Olivia Magill was in on 11 blocks while adding eight kills, and Koelsch had career-highs of 41 assists, 13 digs and nine blocks. Sophomore libero Savanah Kahakai had 18 of the team’s 60 digs and Manu-Olevao added 12 digs for her first double-double of the season.

“Any time you beat Long Beach is something to celebrate,” Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said after the Wahine ran the series advantage to 29-17. “The team was a little subdued in the locker room and I told them this was to be celebrated. Any time you beat them is a good win, especially being down 2-1.

“We played really well when we needed to.”

It definitely wasn’t at the beginning of the match, where Hawaii struggled early in Set 1 and looked bad doing it, falling behind by as much as 23-13. A kill by Manu-Olevao jump-started an 8-0 run and, behind the serves of sophomore defensive specialist Clare-Marie Anderson and three consecutive blocks, the Wahine pulled to 23-21.

The 49ers needed two swings to end it and close out several of Hawaii’s impressive streaks. The Wahine had not dropped a set in their first five conference matches and had not dropped a set since Set 3 of the first match against Cal State Bakersfield on Sept. 28, a run of 19 straight.

The momentum shift turned into a landslide in Set 2. Hawaii put up a wall with seven blocks, including two solo by Magill.

It was deja vu in Set 3 with Hawaii going down 5-0 and 23-15. Unlike Set 1 when Anderson was able to go on a serving run, she served just once as the 49ers took a 2-1 lead on a Wahine net violation and a kill by Ashley Murray.

Set 4 was more of what had been expected, tight with nine ties and three lead changes. The Wahine took the lead for good at 15-14, and two kills by Greeley helped expand the cushion to 18-14.

The 49ers got as close as 21-17, 23-19 and 24-21, only to have the Wahine send it to the fifth on their third set-point attempt when Magill and Greeley teamed to block Peyton Grahovac.

The Beach, 3-0 in five-setters previously this season, opened up a quick 2-0 lead but, just as quickly, got down 3-2. It was tied at 3-3 and then it was over as the Wahine used a 5-0 run, capped by an ace from Manu-Olevao, to pull away to 8-3 at the changeover.

Two hitting errors by the Wahine made it interesting at 13-7, but any hope that the 49ers had was quickly snuffed out by kills from Greeley and Taylor.

Asked why the team was able to make the rally in Set 1 after being down by 10, Magill said: “I think there’s a sense of maturity. You don’t just roll over. We fought back and used that energy to win the second (set).

“The mentality going into Set 5 is ‘first to five (points).’ It’s keeping the lead, siding out faster because the game is shorter.”

It wasn’t long enough for Long Beach State.

“At the end, there were some communication problems,” Barber said. “They’re the No. 1 blocking team and we’ll know what to expect the next time.”

The teams meet at The Pyramid on Nov. 5 and “it will probably go five again,” Shoji said.