Taylor injured as UH sweeps Fullerton

Fullerton, Calif. >> With six days before a pivotal match for first place in the Big West Conference, and with one starter recovering from a sprained ankle, Hawaii watched its best women’s volleyball player suffer another injury Saturday night.

Senior Nikki Taylor left the court late in the second set of the Rainbow Wahine’s 25-19, 25-13, 25-19 sweep of Cal State Fullerton at Titan Gym to keep No. 14 Hawaii tied for first with Long Beach State.

The Wahine (16-5, 9-1) and 49ers will play for the conference lead Friday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. Whether Taylor will participate remains an open question.

Taylor dove to dig a ball with her fist to preserve a rally that Annie Mitchem finished with a cross-court kill to extend UH’s lead to 19-13 in Set 2. Two points later, Tayler Higgins replaced the senior from Kaiser High to finish her service.

Trainers taped ice bags to Taylor’s right shoulder and left knee, and she did not return. UH coach Dave Shoji said he did not know if Taylor would play against Long Beach State.

“I expect her to, but we’ve got to have the doctor and the trainer evaluate her,” said Shoji, who added that more information might be available either today or Monday.

But before she left the match, Taylor pounded seven kills to tie Emily Hartong for 11th place on the program’s all-time list with 1,277 kills.

Meanwhile, Mitchem finished with career highs of 13 kills and seven block assists while continuing to adjust to the left side as Kirsten Sibley’s replacement. Sibley sprained her right ankle and did not travel to the mainland.

“I just had to watch out for the block,” Mitchem said. “Usually, I’m hitting down since I’m in the middle. So I’m trying to hit high and deep, away from the passers.”

McKenna Granato added nine kills to finish the two-match road trip with 21.

“She gives us an honest swing every time,” Shoji said of Granato. “She’s been finding the right seam in the block. We definitely need her offense.”

Fullerton’s tenacity made Granato more valuable. The Titans (6-17, 1-8) forced ties of 6-6 and 7-7 in Set 1 before succumbing to an 8-1 surge that put UH ahead 15-8. Granato led the spree with three kills.

Set 2 was tied six times, the last at 13. A hitting error by the Titans’ Madeline Schneider put Taylor on the service line at 14-13, where she remained until being subbed by Higgins at 21-13. Higgins served out the set with the 12-0 closing run, including three kills and a block assist by Mitchem, and two kills and two block assists by junior middle Emily Maglio.

Fullerton took a 4-1 lead in Set 3, but UH rallied to build a 19-10 advantage. The Titans narrowed their deficit to 23-19.

Freshman setter Norene Iosia earned a sideout with her tip, then Granato and Natasha Burns combined on a block to ensure UH’s 37th consecutive victory over the Titans.

Maglio finished with eight kills and six block assists as the Wahine finished with 10.5 blocks and a .316 hitting percentage. Hawaii held Fullerton to an .076 percentage and just two block solos — neither of them by Kyra Smith or Summer Kerins, who rank first and seventh in the Big West in that category.

Nevertheless, the Titans impressed Shoji.

“I thought Fullerton was way more competitive than when we saw them earlier in the year,” he said. “They took some good swings at the ball and forced us to play hard. I thought our team responded well.

“It wasn’t always pretty. It’s hard to really get up, but we played well enough to control the match.”

Schneider finished with 11 kills and libero Madisen Babich 23 digs.