One call.
Hard to say that was the difference, but it was enough to change the momentum Friday night.
As No. 11 Hawaii would agree, it should never have come down to that one call.
But it did.
UC Irvine took advantage of a replay call early in Set 5 to stun the Rainbow Wahine 11-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-16, 15-13 in a Big West volleyball match at the Stan Sheriff Center.
It was the first time in 41 tries that the Anteaters (4-13, 1-3) were able to defeat Hawaii (12-2, 2-1).
This one is going to hurt.
A lot.
>> Click here to see photos of the match between Hawaii and UC Irvine.
Not just in terms of the Big West standings, but also in terms of national implications, including the first Ratings Percentage Index that will be out next week. This just might have ended Hawaii’s chance at a top-16 seed and hosting a subregional in the NCAA tournament.
If that happens, the Wahine can point to the third play of Set 5. Tied 1-1, Hawaii appeared to go up 2-1 on a kill by freshman Hanna Hellvig.
UC Irvine appealed that the Spectrum cameraman had impeded the pursuit of the ball and a chance to keep the rally alive. The appeal was granted, the point replayed and the Anteaters tied it on a hitting error on Hellvig.
It jumpstarted a devastating run that had Hawaii down 7-2, and 8-3 at the changeover.
The Wahine did rally to tie it 12-12 and held off one match point to make the score 14-13. Freshman middle Onye Ofoegbu put down her 13th kill to complete perhaps UCI’s biggest win in program history.
“I think we’re all just very proud because we knew we had the ability to do this,” Ofoegbu said. “Game after game, we haven’t been executing, but we feel like we showed people what we’re made of and we made history.”
The Anteaters stayed around to soak up their accomplishment, taking pictures on the court.
The outcome overshadowed the performance by Hawaii senior setter Norene Iosia, who had a career-high six aces. Iosia moved up two places on the career list, sitting at 113 after passing No. 10 Tita Ahuna (108) and No. 9 McKenna Granato (111).
Iosia also had her seventh double-double with 24 assists and 10 digs, the 51st of her career.
“I really don’t know what to say,” Iosia said. “We didn’t take care of our side. We took our foot off the pedal and didn’t take care of what we needed to do, what the coaches wanted us to do.
“We have shown everyone that we can play our best and then we drop to being a whole different team. It won’t be hard to come back (Saturday). We have our drive and this feeling that we don’t want to do this again.”
Hellvig led the Wahine with 14 kills, her seventh consecutive match in double figures. Junior middle Sky Williams and senior hitter McKenna Ross each added nine kills for the Wahine, who have a quick turnaround, hosting Cal State Fullerton (8-6, 0-3) tonight.
Sophomore hitter Abby Marjama, held without a kill until midway through Set 2, had 14 kills for UCI. Junior hitter Loryn Carter added 13 kills for the Anteaters, who snapped a four-match losing streak.
“I think everyone can look at our record and see we’ve lost a lot of games,” UCI coach Ashlie Hain said. “The neat part about this team is we’re resilient. The losses we’ve had, we’ve learned from. And they show up at practice and they show up every day coming in to get better.”
Things were going so well for Hawaii as it dominated Set 1. At 15-10, Iosia had four aces in a 9-0 serving run.
Hawaii started Set 2 the same way it ended Set 1: hot. Behind another service run by Iosia, the Wahine rolled to a 6-0 lead.
UCI chipped away, helped by Ally Euston’s extended stay at the service line. When the freshman defensive specialist was through, the Anteaters were up 13-8 and the Wahine were chasing.
Hawaii, which had dropped Set 2 in both of its previous conference matches, caught UCI at 14. The Wahine took the lead for good at 16-14 on two kills by Williams.
At 21-17, three service errors by Hawaii helped UCI stay close — but not close enough. The Anteaters held off one set point but not a second, with Williams ending it.
The momentum gained at the end of Set 2 gave UCI hope and the visitors ran with it. It was 23-23 in Set 3 and the Wahine couldn’t hold on to finish the sweep, giving up the last two points on a kill by Ofoegbu and a Hawaii hitting error.
Set 4 was never close.
Hawaii had been 3-0 in five-setters before Friday.
