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As the motivational saying goes, “no rain, no rainbow.”
An all too quick night in UC Santa Barbara’s Thunderdome in mid-October doused Hawaii’s perfect start in the Big West women’s volleyball race after eight consecutive wins.
With less than a day to recover from the Gauchos’ commanding sweep, the Rainbow Wahine emerged with a resolve that would fuel another month-long run.
Since leaving the loss at UCSB in their wake, the Wahine have won their past nine matches — dropping just three sets in that stretch — to maintain their place atop the conference standings entering the final weekend of the regular season.
“After our loss we talked about how we need to come in even stronger now,” UH defensive specialist Janelle Gong said. “I feel like, yeah, that loss was unfortunate and we’d rather not lose any games, but the benefit of it was it really woke us up and we turned everything up. The way we play defense, how aggressive we are on our serves, everything.
“It would have been nice for us to win (at UCSB), but I don’t think we’d be playing as well as we are right now if we didn’t lose that game.”
A day after the 25-16, 25-16, 25-21 loss at UCSB, the Wahine triggered their current streak with a four-set bounce-back win at Cal State Northridge on Oct. 23. Nine wins later and with their magic number whittled to one, the Rainbow Wahine (20-6, 17-1 Big West) open their final homestand with a rematch against the Matadors (7-22, 6-13) tonight at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
They’ll close the regular season on Saturday with a clash of the top two teams in the Big West when UCSB (20-11, 16-3) makes its visit to Manoa.
A win in either match will give UH a second straight outright Big West championship and the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. If UH and UCSB end up with identical conference records after Saturday’s match, the head-to-head tiebreaker would favor the Gauchos.
So although they clinched at least a tie for the Big West title last weekend and with senior night festivities set to follow Saturday’s match, the Wahine are looking to keep their attention fixed on the next step.
“It’s definitely going to be game-by-game,” UH coach Robyn Ah Mow said. “We’re not looking ahead. We’re looking at the game ahead, which is Friday and CSUN.”
In the aftermath of their lone loss of the Big West schedule to date, Ah Mow noted an uptick in intensity when the Wahine returned to practice.
“Their attitudes kind of changed coming into the gym,” she told reporters in a media session this week. While the players had worked hard to that point, she noticed a collective conviction of “let me give an extra 10%.”
“Even going into games, I think the mentality was different, the mindset was different and the effort level,” Ah Mow said.
In UH’s first meeting with CSUN, the teams split the first two sets before the Wahine pulled out a 25-15, 22-25, 25-15, 25-21 win at the Matadome highlighted by 13 blocks and freshman Martyna Leoniak’s 15 kills and five aces.
“Their serving was crazy, I think we handled it pretty well,” Ah Mow recalled of the match with the Matadors. “And their all-out defense. We’d hit a really good ball and these bang-bang plays come back over. … I think we have to be patient.”
UCSB kept its title hopes alive with a sweep of CSUN on Tuesday. The Gauchos will enter Saturday’s match featuring the most efficient attack in the Big West at .269, with Punahou graduate Mehana Ma’a (5.79 assists per set) sharing setting duties with Grace Kloss (6.18). UCSB middle Rowan Ennis leads the conference with a .425 hitting percentage, while outside hitter Michelle Ohwobete (3.18 kills per set) is the reigning Big West Offensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week.
This week’s matches will mark the final home appearances for Gong, middle blocker Skyler Williams and outside hitter Brooke Van Sickle. The trio will be honored after Saturday’s match with UH’s traditional senior night ceremony.
While attendance hasn’t yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, “I think (the players) are thankful that we can actually have fans in the Stan (for senior night),” Ah Mow said. “I think it’s still going to be great.”
Note
Toys for Tots will collect donations of new and/or unwrapped toys at Saturday’s match. The toys will be distributed to less-fortunate children in the community. The collection point will be at Gate A. … Fans who want to give lei to the seniors can drop them off at designated tables at Gate B on Saturday.
Big West Volleyball
At SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
Cal State Northridge (7-22, 6-13 BWC) vs. Hawaii (20-6, 17-1)
>> When: Today, 7 p.m.
>> TV: Spectrum OC 16
>> Radio: 1420-AM/92.7-FM
>> Tickets: etickethawaii.com, SSC ticket office
>> Entrance requirements: Proof of vaccination and health check on LumiSight UH app (available on Apple store, Google Play store, LumiSight UH website) . Masks required. Only clear bags allowed.
>> Parking: $7 (no passes)
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