Wahine win road opener at Fullerton

FULLERTON, Calif. >> Even the loss of one of the Big West Conference’s leading setters failed to stop Hawaii’s winning streak Friday night.

Without junior Tayler Higgins for much of the 79 minutes, the 10th-ranked Rainbow Wahine still earned their eighth consecutive victory in their first road match of the year by sweeping Cal State Fullerton in conference action at Titan Gym.

Sophomore Kendra Koelsch replaced Higgins with Hawaii leading 12-4 in Set 1, and finished with career highs of 37 assists, four digs and three block assists in the 25-11, 25-16, 25-13 victory.

It was the fourth consecutive sweep for UH (13-1, 3-0), which has won its last 13 sets.

Higgins, ranked second in the Big West with 464 assists, injured her left ankle while she was involved in a block with two teammates. After going up with Emily Maglio and Kalei Greeley on the triple block of Megann Delgado, Higgins appeared to land on Maglio’s foot and fell to the court.

Senior Tai Manu-Olevao and Nikki Taylor helped carry Higgins off the court in order to keep weight off her ankle.

"She twisted it pretty badly," Wahine coach Dave Shoji said. "She’s going to get an X-ray to make sure it’s not fractured. She’ll definitely not play Saturday (against UC Riverside)."

As Higgins went to the bench, Koelsch entered the match.

"Kendra’s played in some big moments for us in the past," Shoji said. "She’s done a really nice job when she’s come in. She’s very comfortable coming in off the bench."

The sophomore from nearby Huntington Beach, however, felt anything but comfortable in such a situation.

"Usually, I’m not nervous," Koelsch said. "It’s fun to go in and make a difference. Tonight, I was just in shock because my best friend just went down."

How long did Koelsch need to get into the flow of the match?

"It took a couple of points," she said. "Usually, it’s really quick."

A new setter meant a new style for UH’s attackers.

"The tempo of her sets are a little higher," Shoji said. "So the hitters will have to make a little bit of an adjustment."

Against Fullerton (0-15, 0-3), the Wahine didn’t miss a beat. UH not only never trailed but saw the score tied just once, at 1-1 in the third set.

In Set 2, the visitors used a 4-0 surge to turn a 13-9 lead into a 17-9 advantage. Greeley contributed two kills, and Olivia Magill scored off Koelsch’s quick set.

After the Titans forced a 1-1 tie in Set 3, UH scored the next five points. Greeley had two more kills in the spree.

"I thought we matched Fullerton’s intensity," Shoji said. "I was impressed with them. They haven’t won a match, but they played hard."

Matching the Titans’ intensity meant deciphering a complex offense that first-year coach Ashley Preston brought.

"They’re completely different," Shoji said. "They run all kinds of, I would say, misdirection. They run a pretty complicated offense. That’s something that’s way different about them.

"It takes some preparation to know what they’re trying to do, and I think our kids executed the blocking schemes pretty well."

The Wahine outblocked Fullerton 12-4 and held the Titans to an .053 hitting percentage. Koelsch was in on a match-high four blocks and junior middle Annie Mitchem in on three playing the final two sets.

Offensively, there was Koelsch, whose family watched her best collegiate performance.

"I’m always so excited for them to see me play," she said. "I just play for them. Tonight, I was playing for Tayler."

Greeley, Manu-Olevao and Magill each had eight kills, Magill doing so on a season-best .700 hitting percentage. Maglio and Taylor finished with six each, the first time in 15 matches dating back to last season that Taylor didn’t have 10 or more kills.

Greeley also had a match-high nine digs. Sophomore libero Savanah Kahakai had eight before yielding her libero spot to Clare-Marie Anderson in Set 3.

Kandace Thomas led the Titans with seven kills. Paige Reed had a match-high 12 digs.

Hawaii finishes its first road trip at UC Riverside today (6-9, 1-1).

BIG WEST VOLLEYBALL

Friday

Cal Poly def. No 24. Long Beach State 25-17, 20-25, 25-23, 25-15

CSUN def. UC Santa Barbara 25-27, 25-14, 25-20, 25-20

No. 10 Hawaii def. CSU Fullerton 25-11, 25-16, 25-13

Today

CSUN at Cal Poly, 1 p.m. 

No. 10 Hawaii at UC Riverside, 3 p.m. 

No. 24 Long Beach State at UC Santa Barbara, 4 p.m. 

UC Irvine at UC Davis, 4 p.m.

No. 10 Hawaii Def. Cal State Fullerton 25-11, 25-16, 25-13

Key — s: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct: hitting percentage; d: digs; bs: block solo; ba: block assists; pts: points (kills plus blocks plus aces).

Service Aces — Hawaii 7 (Taylor 3, Greeley, Ponce, Kahakai, Castillo). CSUF 1 (Olsen). Service errors — Hawaii 4 (Higgins, Taylor, Mitchem, Castillo). CSUF 1 (Hill). Assists — Hawaii 41 (Koelsch 31, Higgins 5, Anderson 2, Taylor, Guinasso, Kahakai). 

CSUF 21 (Higgins 11, Olsen 7, Reed 2, Smith 1). T — 1:19. Officials — Rick Olmstead, Larry Schwartz. A — 557.