Nothing personal? Sometimes that is not an option.
At least not for Norene Iosia, who takes the matches against Long Beach State very personally. The junior setter-hitter for Hawaii grew up about 18 miles from the 49ers’ campus, not close enough to see the Walter Pyramid but close enough to feel its shadow.
“Basically their coaching staff has known me since I was 8, they’ve coached me since I was 12,” said Iosia, who played for Mizuno Long Beach, the junior volleyball club run by the 49ers staff. “I played with a lot of their players.
“Basically I grew up with them. Yeah, it’s personal. It makes it more fun.”
The fun for Iosia came in 2 hours and 13 minutes in helping Hawaii defeat Long Beach State for the fourth straight time. She had her fourth triple-double of the season, tied for the national lead, in a 25-22, 25-19, 23-25, 25-20 Big West victory.
As a crowd of 4,042 watched, Iosia had 12 kills, 26 assists and 11 digs as the Rainbow Wahine (10-6, 6-1) remained in second place behind No. 12 Cal Poly. The Wahine host Cal State Northridge (6-12, 2-5) at 7 tonight, the designated “Dig Pink Night” for breast cancer awareness.
Iosia got plenty of help from senior opposite Angel Gaskin, who tied her UH career high with 12 kills, and senior middle Sarah Liva, who added 11 kills. Senior libero Tita Akiu finished with 16 digs, her 15th match in double digits.
Senior hitter Tyler Spriggs had 18 kills for Long Beach State (11-9, 3-4). The 49ers outblocked the Wahine 11-7, with senior middle Emma Kirst in on six.
Long Beach State also had the edge in digs, 66-61. Junior hitter Hailey Harward had a match-high 20 digs.
The key play of the night had nothing to do with statistics. It was the video replay challenge card that Hawaii coach Robyn Ah Mow-Santos played late in Set 3.
With the Wahine leading 22-20, the attack by Spriggs appeared to land in, which would have cut the lead to 22-21. Ah Mow-Santos challenged that Kirst had hit the net on a block attempt earlier. She won the challenge and Hawaii went up 23-20.
Senior hitter McKenna Granato’s lone ace of the night gave the Wahine match point and senior hitter Casey Castillo ended it with her ninth kill.
“Coach Robyn’s call shifted the whole game,” Iosia said. “It was going back and forth all night, but for some reason that shifted everything.”
“I saw it when it happened,” Ah Mow-Santos said. “I wasn’t sure if there would be a net cam (camera) that would show it, but it did.
“It still comes down to what we do on our side. We had too many errors (19 hitting, 12 service), and that’s more than a whole set. We cut down our errors and we win in three.”
It didn’t start out that way. Hawaii chased for most of Set 1, a defensive showcase that had a combined 35 digs. The Wahine, down by as much as 6-1, had a brief lead at 12-11, but then fell behind 19-16.
Gaskin had three kills, and an ace by senior setter Faith Ma’afala put Hawaii up for good at 22-20. Two errors by the 49ers gave the Wahine the set, their ninth consecutive set over The Beach.
Thirty minutes later, Hawaii made it 10 straight. A kill by Iosia jump-started a 3-0 run that put the Wahine ahead 7-5. The 49ers, who lead the Big West in blocks, didn’t get their first until Spriggs stuffed Iosia to make it 15-11.
The Beach picked up their second when Kirst blocked Natasha Burns, cutting the deficit to 21-17. Hawaii closed it out on two kills by Iosia and two errors by the 49ers.
Helped by six blocks, Long Beach State took a set off Hawaii in Honolulu for the first time since 2015. Harward’s serving continued to give the Wahine fits, her 6-0 stint giving the 49ers a 15-12 lead and hope.
The Wahine tied it three times, the last at 22. Hawaii held off one set point but not a second, with Iosia blocked to force a fourth.
Note
The Wahine lead the series with the Matadors 22-2 and have never lost to CSUN in Honolulu.
