Twenty-one years ago, Robyn Ah Mow-Santos was named the most outstanding player of the Hawaiian Airlines Classic.
On Thursday night, the Rainbow Wahine’s signature tournament became even more memorable for the former All-America setter.
Aloha ball never felt so good.
Ah Mow-Santos picked up her first career victory as the Hawaii head coach courtesy of a balanced attack and a stifling block. The Rainbow Wahine (1-3) had four players with five or more kills and used 11 stuffs — five by freshman middle Sky Williams — to sweep Western Carolina 25-15, 25-14, 25-13 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Getting the high-five from her young daughter Jream at the end of 77 minutes just added to the moment.
“I’m at a loss for words. I gotta stop crying in front of these girls,” Ah Mow-Santos said, sharing the postmatch interview with sophomore setter Norene Iosia and junior hitter Casey Castillo. “Any win for me is good, so if you want to get me more wins, I’m good with that.”
It was a decidedly more relaxed atmosphere than last week, when Hawaii opened with three losses for the first time since 1980.
Iosia, who finished with a double-double (22 assists, 13 digs), deadpanned that her coach’s first victory “was not really that special.”
“No,” she quickly added. “It’s exciting. It’s exciting for her. It’s exciting for the team bouncing back from last week.”
“It’s something that should have happened last week,” Castillo said of Ah Mow-Santos’ first victory.
A crowd of 3,314 did see it happen Thursday, a night where Hawaii used 13 players, including the season debut for senior defensive specialist Gianna Guinasso and career debut of redshirt junior setter Faith Ma’afala. Junior hitter McKenna Granato led the offense with eight kills and Castillo added seven.
Hawaii, which hasn’t won this event since 2013, takes on South Dakota in today’s second match. The Coyotes (1-3) were swept by No. 22 Utah in Thursday’s opener, 25-22, 25-10, 25-15.
Kahuku graduate Adora Anae had 12 kills for the Utes (3-1), who meet the Catamounts (1-3) in today’s 4:45 p.m. contest.
Hawaii’s block set the tone early with six in Set 1, including two consecutive during a 5-0 run that put the Wahine up 18-11.
In Set 2, the jet lag began to kick in for the Catamounts, who had flown all day and arrived just before noon on Thursday. WCU had problems on serve-receive, unable to handle the heaters by Iosia (3 aces) and Granato (1). Granato’s ace came during a 5-0 spurt that had Hawaii pulling away at 21-11.
Things got a little ragged for the Wahine in Set 3 as they used 12 players, but the outcome was never in doubt. Behind Guinasso’s serving, Hawaii enjoyed its first 10-point lead at 17-7 and expanded that to 11 at 22-11 on what would be Granato’s last kill.
The Wahine gave up runs of points during last week’s matches, including six straight while falling to UCLA in the fifth 15-10.
Thursday night, Hawaii saw its first victory end on three consecutive points, a lift by WCU freshman setter Hannah Price and then two blocks by the combo of Iosia and senior middle Emily Maglio.
Freshman hitter Gabby Gray led the Catamounts with eight kills.
“I think we’re getting better at blocking,” Ah Mow-Santos said, her team finishing with a 13-4 advantage over the shorter Catamounts. “Our hitting percentage (.259) could be a little better.
“I wasn’t sure which team was going to show up tonight, gauging from our practices. We were kind of flat. I’m happy the team bounced back from the not-so-good practices. And we were able to get people in. I think our bench thought I was sub happy.”
No. 22 Utah 3, South Dakota 0
The Utes had just nine hitting errors in the sweep of the Coyotes. Sophomore setter Bailey Choy (‘Iolani) had 27 assists for Utah.
Junior hitter Rachel Schmidt led USD with eight kills.
