4 Wahine register double-figure kills in sweep of Utah Valley

It may have been a sweep, but the broom wasn’t the prettiest looking. At least not until the end.

Still, No. 14 Hawaii overcame sluggishness and sloppiness to pick up its third sweep of the season, using a very balanced attack in a 25-18, 25-21, 25-8 victory in the opener of the Outrigger Resorts Volleyball Challenge on Thursday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Senior opposite Nikki Taylor had 12 kills as the Rainbow Wahine (4-3) had four players in double-figure kills for the first time this season. Sophomore hitter McKenna Granato and freshman hitter Kirsten Sibley each had 11, while junior middle Emily Maglio added 10 kills with no errors on 13 swings, hitting .769, in the 88-minute match.

Hawaii faces Northern Illinois (5-1) in today’s second match at 7 p.m. In the 4:45 p.m. opener, Utah Valley (3-5) takes on No. 6 Washington (5-0).

A crowd of 4,382 saw 16 Wahine play Thursday night, including all three setters. It didn’t affect Maglio, who connected with all of them.

“They’re all really good and it’s easy to transition when there’s a change,” Maglio said. “We did have a slow start, but it got better.”

“The first two (sets) were a little sluggish, more of a mental lapse on our part,” added Taylor, who saw a double block most of the night. “But we came out with more intensity after intermission.

“Collectively we wanted to be more energetic.”

It was 1-1 in Set 3 and then it was over. Taylor had three straight kills and Granato a 4-0 serving run as Hawaii took a 6-1 lead and never looked back. Sibley and sophomore middle Casey Castillo had four kills on six errorless swings in the third and freshman McKenna Ross put down all three of her attempts.

Junior libero Savanah Kahakai had 10 of Hawaii’s 40 digs. She has 702 for her career.

“We are so fortunate to have such good freshman hitters this year,” Taylor said. “It takes a load off me.”

Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said he was happy to get as many players court time as he did.

“I love Ross’ energy, she’s out there having fun,” Shoji said. “Kirsten and McKenna (Granato) looked good at the end.

“Our numbers look good on paper, but we made too many hitting errors. They (UVU) had seven blocks after two games and we shouldn’t be getting blocked like that by an undersized team. We were sluggish, never really got behind, but we weren’t real sharp. We’ll have to be tomorrow.”

The Wolverines outblocked the Wahine 8-3, with junior middle Madison Dennison in on six. Junior hitter Lexi Thompson finished with a team-high eight kills.

Hawaii went with senior setter Tayler Higgins and freshman middle Natasha Burns for the first two sets, then freshman setter Norene Iosia and sophomore middle Casey Castillo for most of the third.

“Tayler and Natasha earned their starts based on their play in practice this week,” Shoji said. “Tomorrow I’ll confer with my staff about our lineup. We can go with either setter or either middle. It’s nice we can do that.”

It is making it hard for teams to scout Hawaii. Shoji said he wasn’t doing that intentionally.

“We’re looking to get something out of certain positions,” he said. “Casey came in and gave us a lift.

“And Maglio … it’s not overwhelming, but it’s very efficient. She almost lulls you to sleep. Last year, you knew when (graduated senior middle Olivia) Magill had a night like this. Maglio kind of sneaks up on you.”

And four players in double digits?

“That’s hard to do in a short match like tonight,” he said.

Set 2 was the tightest, with eight ties and three lead changes.

Hawaii seemed to take control at 15-11, only to have Utah Valley chip away. Taylor was blocked by Thompson and Dennison, pulling the Wolverines to 21-20, but Thompson’s service error — one of UVU’s eight in the match — coupled with a lift called on setter Sierra Starley gave the Wahine the needed separation.