The roar told the story.
After trailing for most of the first set of its home opener, Hawaii had energized the crowd in SimpiFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center by surviving five set points before earning a swing to complete the comeback.
When UH setter Kate Lang’s tip over the net couldn’t be returned by a flailing Texas State defense, the ensuing eruption signaled the return of the atmosphere the program had missed since 2019.
After coming up empty on a trip to Texas, UH’s first-set comeback against a visitor from the Lone Star State sparked a 28-26, 25-20, 27-25 sweep of Texas State on Thursday in the program’s first match without attendance restrictions in close to three years.
“I saw them fighting from last week,” UH coach Robyn Ah Mow said after the win in the home opener. “I know we came home and we’re 0-3, but there’s definitely some good things that they did there, and one good thing was they just kept fighting. Every set, every point, they just kept going. … I knew they were going to keep fighting.”
Hawaii middle blocker Amber Igiede tied her career high with 20 kills and dished out an assist on match point to close out the win to cap the opening day of the Outrigger Volleyball Challenge.
Igiede hit .562 with just two errors in 32 attacks and outside hitter Riley Wagoner’s 12th kill, coming off an out-of-system set from Igiede, closed out the victory before a crowd of 3,413.
Freshman outside hitter Caylen Alexander added nine kills in her Sheriff Center debut.
“A big thing we talked about was just playing through the nervousness, using it to our advantage, and I think that really helped,” Alexander said of settling any early jitters.
Lang tied a career high with four kills to go along with 43 assists and 10 digs for her third double-double of the season for the Wahine (1-3). The sophomore set UH to a .344 hitting percentage to Texas State’s .243.
The tournament continues today with the Rainbow Wahine facing West Virginia (2-2) at 7 p.m.
The Rainbow Wahine opened the season with three losses in the Texas A&M Invitational last week in College Station and were in danger of dropping an eighth consecutive set when Texas State took a 24-21 lead in Thursday’s opening set on a block by Caitlan Buettner to force Ah Mow to take UH’s second timeout of the set.
“In the last timeout, Kate was like, ‘We are not losing this set,’ and I think it really it lit a fire under us,” Alexander said. “We came back and we battled and we knew what to fix.”
Wagoner kept UH alive with a cross-court kill, Lang won a joust at the net and Igiede put down a block to tie the set at 24-24.
The Wahine would fend off two more set points before Alexander went down the line to give UH set point. Lang then ended a rally and the set with a tip that the Bobcats couldn’t save.
“Just keep fighting and know that we practice every day trying to get three points in a row,” Lang said of the team’s approach to the deficit. “I think it was a situation we’re not scared of because we’ve been in it every day during practice.”
UH surged ahead in the second set with a five-point run with Wagoner on the service line. The run included a Wagoner ace and a Lang block to give UH a 15-11 lead. The Wahine closed out the set with a 4-1 run and ended the set when Alexander pushed a kill through the block.
UH led 15-12 midway through the third set and traded runs with the Bobcats before earning match point at 24-22 on back-to-back Igiede kills. Texas State fought off both and took the lead at 25-24 when Lang was called for a back-row attack. Igiede put away her 20th kill and teamed with Lang on a block to give UH another match point. After a scramble, Igiede flicked a set to Wagoner, who found open court to seal the win.
Janell Fitzgerald led Texas State (3-1) with 15 kills on .412 hitting and Jada Gardner added 12 kills.
No. 23 UCLA 3, West Virginia 0
The Bruins hit .353, led by middle blocker Anna Dodson’s 10 kills on 19 attempts (.474), in a 25-18, 25-13, 25-14 sweep of the Mountaineers.
UCLA middle Francesca Alupei put away seven kills in 10 attempts without an error and matched Dodson with three blocks. Mackenzie Cole and Matti McKissock each served up three aces for the Bruins (2-1).
Adrian Ell led West Virginia (2-2) with 11 kills. Bailey Miller added nine kills and six digs.
UCLA faces Texas State today at 4:45 pm.
