Hawaii’s volleyball season ends with 3-set loss to Washington in 2nd round of NCAA Tournament
ANTHONY BOLANTE / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
Hawaii’s Riley Wagoner hits past Washington’s Ella May Powell during the first set.
SEATTLE >> Washington outside hitter Claire Hoffman put away 20 kills and the Huskies ended the University of Hawaii women’s volleyball team’s season with a commanding sweep today at Alaska Airlines Arena.
Hoffman led a Washington attack that hit .387 and the Huskies held UH to .134 to advance to the round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
The Big West champion Rainbow Wahine closed their season at 22-8 after ending their season with a loss in the Seattle sub-regional for the fifth time since 2010.
The match closed the UH careers of seniors Brooke Van Sickle, Skyler Williams and Janelle Gong.
Washington controlled the first set from the service line and the second at the net to roll to commanding wins.
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The Huskies fired four aces in the opening set and took control with a 6-2 surge to open up an 18-11 lead. Shannon Crenshaw’s second ace of the set gave Washington a 22-13 lead and Hoffman ended the set with her eighth kill.
The Huskies block took over in the second set, turning back the Wahine on five consecutive points to take a 10-3 lead. Crenshaw fired back-to-back aces to push the lead to 16-6 and Washington cruised to a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Huskies wasted no time in taking control of the third set, opening with a 5-0 run. UH closed to 13-8 on an ace by Kate Lang, but Washington surged away again with a 5-0 run capped by Hoffmans’ 20th kill. The Huskies went on to close out the set and UH’s season with Samantha Dreschsel’s 11th kill.
Washington finished with eight blocks and 10 aces in the match.
Amber Igiede led UH with eight kills on 15 attempts to hit .467 with three blocks. Van Sickle added seven kills in her final match.
