Hawaii volleyball team sweeps Long Beach State for outright Big West title
STEVEN ERLER / SPECIAL TO THE HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER
Hawaii middle blocker Amber Igiede (3) spiked the ball during the first set of a match between Long Beach State and Hawaii tonight at Stan Sheriff Center.
The No. 18 Hawaii women’s volleyball team dispatched Long Beach State on a sold-out senior night, 25-18, 25-12, 25-20, to claim the outright Big West Conference championship.
The 15th women’s volleyball sellout at the 10,300-seat Stan Sheriff Center, and first since Sept. 7, 2013 against UCLA, yielded 9,067 through the turnstiles. The “white-out” crowd saw UH (24-3, 14-2 Big West) win its 11th straight match in sending off its five seniors — Norene Iosia, McKenna Ross, Rika Okino, Bailey Choy and Kirsten Sibley — in outhitting the Beach .333 to .130.
UH last won an outright league crown in 2016. It was the first for third-year head coach Robyn Ah Mow.
>> See our photo gallery of the game
Setter/hitter Iosia was unstoppable from behind the service line, hammering a career-high seven aces among UH’s season-high-tying 12. The Torrance, Calif., native finished the night surpassing Lisa Strand for third in career aces at 134, while also supplying 20 assists, five kills, five blocks and five digs. Ross and Brooke Van Sickle tied for team-high honors with nine kills.
Now UH awaits whether its RPI is high enough to qualify for hosting duties for an NCAA tournament subregional, or whether it will head to the mainland for the first and second rounds. The 64-team event begins Dec. 5.
It’s an OUTRIGHT Big West championship for #HawaiiWVB, which sweeps Long Beach State 25-18, 25-12, 25-20. pic.twitter.com/PApPuw0vFK
— Hawaii Warrior World (@hawaiiwworld) November 23, 2019
LBSU, which beat former Big West contenders Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara in its last two matches, ended its season at 12-16 and 9-7 in Big West play.
UH controlled the action in the first set. Iosia’s solo block of Kashauna Williams made it 17-12. Van Sickle followed with a solo stuff to make it 19-13. It ended on an ace for Ross when LBSU misplayed the ball.
Iosia had four aces among UH’s first seven points in Set 2 — including on three consecutive points — to tie assistant coach Angelica Ljungqvist for Wahine career aces with 133. LBSU trimmed the deficit to 9-7, only to see the Wahine surge right back and take the set going away.
LBSU switched setters for Set 3, resulting in a smoother attack. The Beach hung within 15-13. Hanna Hellvig and Sky Williams put down consecutive kills to push the lead to 18-13. Ah Mow inserted all her seniors for the final handful of points, along with the middle Williams. They had to regroup after a rotation error allowed the Beach to creep within 22-18, but Amber Igiede put it away on UH’s second match point.
#HawaiiWVB seniors 2019 pic.twitter.com/bWSiRxz9p2
— Hawaii Warrior World (@hawaiiwworld) November 23, 2019
