Dynamic duo leads Wahine over Titans

The celebration came early as No. 13 Hawaii received Hawaiian bracelets commemorating last season’s Big West volleyball championship. It continued for another 95 minutes as the Rainbow Wahine polished off Cal State Fullerton for their 24th straight conference victory.

Senior middle Annie Mitchem and freshman hitter Kirsten Sibley each put down nine kills to pace Hawaii’s balanced attack in a 25-13, 25-16, 25-18 victory at the Stan Sheriff Center on Friday night. A crowd of 5,100 saw the Wahine (10-4, 3-0 Big West) run their record against the Titans (6-11, 1-2) to 35-0.

“I thought we played well as a team,” said Mitchem, who moved from outside to middle full-time for the first time this year. “We didn’t play down to their level.

“I thought we kept up the energy. It’s what we need to do again Sunday.”

Hawaii finishes out a brief homestand with a 5 p.m. match Sunday against UC Riverside (0-1, 5-8). That all 17 Wahine played Friday night was one of the highlights of the match, coach Dave Shoji said.

“It was nice to get everyone in,” he said. “We’re still looking at the lineup. Sibley needed to get back in the mix, but we’re still evaluating that position. A lot depends on Kirsten’s ability to stay in the lineup — we need her to hit for a high percentage and block well.”

Sibley did the job Friday night, hitting .368 to Mitchem’s .375, the highs for the starters. Senior opposite Nikki Taylor added eight kills — the first time in 19 matches that she didn’t have at least 10 — and was in on five of Hawaii’s eight blocks.

Junior middle Emily Maglio had seven kills and four blocks in two sets. Junior libero Savanah Kahakai had 11 digs.

“I thought we had good focus on our side,” Sibley said. “We didn’t play down and we celebrated every play.”

Neither team played particularly smoothly in Set 1, but the Titans were less so. Fullerton managed just two kills in hitting negative .333, while Hawaii finally broke .000 when taking the lead at 17-10.

The Titans had two quick kills to open Set 2 and Fullerton led 3-0 before junior hitter McKenna Granato took over from the service line. Her ace and two kills by Sibley helped Hawaii use a 6-0 run to take the lead for good.

The Titans again stayed close early in Set 3, closing to 5-4 on one of sophomore hitter Shimen Fayad’s seven kills. The Wahine pulled away behind freshman setter Norene Iosia’s serving stint, her ace helping push the led to 11-4.

Taylor’s final kill gave Hawaii match point at 24-15 and the Wahine needed three swings at ending it, finally doing so on Sibley’s ninth kill.

Fayad, the reigning conference player of the week, hit negative .034. The Titans, getting 12 digs by sophomore libero Torrey Tinney, hit negative .022.

If there was a negative on Hawaii’s side of the court, Shoji felt it was the set location by Iosia.

“Her set selection is fine, it’s the location that’s not great,” he said. “She’s not setting the middles as high as she needs to.

“We have big, tall middles that jump well and she’s struggling a little with getting the sets high enough for them.”

Taylor moves closer

Taylor (1,181) needs nine kills to pass Kenyatta Lovelace for 15th on the UH career list. The last time Taylor did not reach double-digit kills was last Nov. 7, when she had seven in the sweep at CSUN.