Janelle Gong has been waiting, first through a redshirt year and then the first three matches of this young volleyball season. Hawaii’s freshman defensive specialist finally saw the Stan Sheriff Center court Friday night, both of her first service stints brief ones in Set 3 against Coastal Carolina.
Her debut with the Rainbow Wahine leading 13-12 was unremarkable, the Chanticleers siding out quickly, sending Gong back to the bench. Her second was more than memorable, a line-drive walk-off ace that sent Hawaii to a 25-14, 25-16, 25-22 nonconference victory and a .500 record at 2-2 after 85 minutes.
“It was super cool,” said Gong, who is from Moraga, Calif. “I’m really happy about it.
“Watching the past matches … what I’ve seen grow is the fight, our ability to rally, get points and finish.”
A crowd of 3,348 saw the Wahine able to close out a set when being tested. Unlike last Sunday when they failed to put down five set points against Kansas State, Hawaii was successful when challenged in Set 3 by Coastal.
The Wahine had handled the Chanticleers fairly easily before going into the locker room up 2-0, diffusing Coastal’s top hitter, freshman opposite Anett Nemeth. The left-hander came to Honolulu averaging 4.5 kills per set and had just seven on Thursday.
She had four through Set 2, then added five in Set 3, keeping the Chants competitive. It was tied nine times, the last at 19, before the Wahine gained some separation with a 4-0 spurt jump-started by junior setter/hitter Norene Iosia’s seventh kill.
After Coastal closed to 23-22, Hawaii came out of its only timeout of the night, getting senior hitter Casey Castillo’s 11th kill for aloha ball. Gong ended it with her first career ace, one of eight aces for Hawaii.
Senior hitter McKenna Granato again led the Wahine, putting down 14 kills and adding her third double-double with 10 digs. Iosia, who had three aces, also had her third double-double with 15 assists and 10 digs.
Senior libero Tita Akiu had a team-high 11 digs, her fourth straight match in double-digit digs.
For the Chanticleers (1-4), Nemeth finished with a team-high nine kills. Junior libero Carla Cahill added a match-high 12 digs.
Wahine coach Robyn Ah Mow-Santos said she was happy with the effort and the outcome for a second straight night.
“I like how they came back and were still focused after playing the day before,” she said. “There’s been improvement in all the little things since the beginning of the season.
“I thought we touched more balls and are better at every skill, the setter-hitter connection, the defense as a whole. Overall everything we work on in practice has improved.”
If there was one area that needed improvement it was serving. For the second straight night, the Wahine had 12 service errors.
Hawaii had fewer hitting errors with 10, and just one in Set 1.
The Wahine continued to work on their blocking, finishing with five Friday, with senior middle Sarah Liva in on three straight that gave Hawaii a 20-12 lead in Set 2.
“I think our blocking has improved,” Iosia said. “So has our serve-receive and passing. We’ve been more in-system.”
The Wahine next host the Outrigger Classic next Thursday through Sunday. The field includes Idaho, Portland and San Diego State.
Note
After the match, it was announced that Akiu, who transferred after three seasons at Texas Tech, had been awarded a scholarship.
