Hawaii grabs its 12th straight victory, beating UC Davis in three

The outcome was never in question, not when the top blocking team in the country opened with five stuffs among its first eight points.

There were lineup questions, however, for No. 8 Hawaii as it dispatched UC Davis fairly easily Friday night in 96 minutes at the Stan Sheriff Center. Despite two starters out and another that left briefly after taking a knee to the head, the Rainbow Wahine still won their 12th straight convincingly, 25-12, 25-11, 25-17.

Senior hitter Tai Manu-Olevao put down a match-high 12 kills, matching Hawaii’s block total (12.5) and the Wahine held Aggies senior hitter Kaylin Squyres, the Big West leader in kills (334) and kills per set (4.48), to just four kills. Junior hitter Nikki Taylor added eight kills on errorless hitting and tied senior middle Olivia Magill for match high in blocks with six as Hawaii improved to 17-1 overall, 7-0 in conference.

Sophomore setter Kendra Koelsch made her fourth career start in place of junior Tayler Higgins, finishing with 35 assists and four blocks. Freshman hitter McKenna Granato replaced sophomore hitter Kalei Greeley for her third start of the season and "was the story of the match, having a terrific night," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said.

"I had these visions of her being nervous, but she passed well, hit well, played almost flawlessly. It is nice to have depth, but I’d rather have our best six out there. We’ve been hit by a rash of injuries. It’s been like LeBron James said, ‘Next man up.’ "

Hawaii could be without Greeley (shoulder) and Taylor, its kill leader, for today’s 7 p.m. match with UC Irvine. Taylor collided with Koelsch’s shin at 23-11 in Set 1 — silencing the crowd of 5,103 — and, although Taylor returned in Set 2, Shoji said the potential of a concussion could keep her off the court against the Anteaters (8-10, 2-4).

"It is a concern and we’ll watch her," he said. "She’s been our go-to player, and it was unnerving when she went down. But (junior middle) Annie Mitchem has had her best week of practice so far, has taken reps on both the right and left, and would be ready to go. We also have (freshman hitter Casey) Castillo."

Castillo replaced Taylor in Set 1 and late in Set 3.

The biggest disappointment for Koelsch and Taylor was that Hawaii didn’t win the point after their collision, joking afterwards that it was "all for nothing," Koelsch said.

"I thought tonight was a very clean game, very much to the point," Taylor added. "It was boom, bang and out.

"The goal for all our matches is to start off strong and get the game over quickly. The take-away from this is looking at the positives and try to replicate them the next match. Tonight we passed really well."

Hawaii played very efficiently, siding-out at 80 percent for the match, including 93 percent in running away in Set 1. The Wahine had six aces to just two service errors, outdug UC Davis 40-32 and finished with a 12.5-3 edge in blocks.

Hawaii also committed just seven hitting errors, including Granato’s lone error when she was just over the 3-meter line on a back-row attack.

"I was a little nervous in the beginning," said Granato, making her first start since Sept. 6 against UCLA. "But the team made me feel very comfortable out there. You have pressure on you to fill that (starting) role."

Hawaii’s block put a lot of pressure on UC Davis from the beginning. The first 10 minutes set the tone for the match with Magill in on all five blocks — including two solo — as the Wahine rolled out to an 8-2 lead.

The Aggies (9-12, 4-3) never threatened until Set 3, when they took their only leads of the night at 7-6 and 8-7.

It was tied four times after that, with Hawaii pulling away for good with a 3-0 run, helped by a block of Squyres and an ace by Taylor. All 13 available Wahine played, with Mitchem perfect on five swings and in on three blocks.

"We have a deep team and that helps us when we know people can come in from off the bench and do well," Taylor said. "It’s nice when you can trust them to do that."

Junior hitter Kendall Walbrecht led the Aggies with 11 kills.