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Riley Wagoner enters each match with a lengthy job description.
The University of Hawaii junior checked off a bunch of those boxes on Friday night in leading the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team to a sweep of UC Davis to open the Big West season.
Wagoner powered the UH offense with 12 kills and contributed 11 digs to the defensive effort to post her first double-double of the season in UH’s 25-22, 25-14, 25-21 win before a crowd of 4,066 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
Wagoner also handled a team-high 16 serve receptions without an error to help trigger a UH attack that hit a collective .293 to the Aggies’ .131.
“She’s got one of the hardest jobs,” UH coach Robyn Ah Mow said of Wagoner’s six-rotation duties. “She has to pass balls, she has to serve balls, she plays defense, she has to hit balls and block balls. She has to do everything, so for her to get double-doubles, and with her height, I give her props for that.
“Really her job is to pass and play defense, but if we get kills out of her too, that’s icing on the cake. So she did an awesome job tonight.”
UH middle blocker Amber Igiede added 10 kills on .389 hitting, served up back-to-back aces in the second set and sent back four blocks, including two solo, as the Wahine (4-5, 1-0 BWC) improved to 18-1 in the all-time series with UC Davis and picked up the program’s 16th straight win over the Aggies.
“It’s definitely good to start off with a win right out of the gate just to build our confidence and set the tone for how we want conference play to go,” Wagoner said.
UH middle Tiffany Westerberg hammered an overpass on match point for her eighth kill in a .412 hitting performance and was in on five of UH’s nine blocks. Freshman Caylen Alexander also finished with eight kills and had four blocks in her Big West debut. Four UH hitters had at least 17 swings, led by Wagoner’s 26, as setter Kate Lang distributed 36 assists.
The Wahine defense finished with 48 digs, led by libero Tayli Ikenaga’s 13, to UC Davis’ 30.
“I was proud of the back-row defense for sure,” Igiede said. “Speaking personally, I think we can clean the blocking up a little bit more, but the defense did a really good job.”
The two-time defending Big West champions conclude their homestand today against UC Riverside (2-8, 0-1).
Coming out of their lone bye week of the season, the Wahine traded mini-runs with the Aggies in an opening set that included nine ties and four lead changes before edging away late.
The Aggies tied it at 19 before a service error gave UH the lead and Wagoner put away two kills in a 4-1 Wahine run. UC Davis closed to 23-22, but an attack error gave UH set point and Igiede tapped down a kill after Lang scooped the ball out of the net to give UH the lead in the match.
Ah Mow noted some shaky setter-hitter connections in the tight first and third sets, “but I feel like they stayed calm and patient and did not let a whole run of eight points, six points go. I thought they did a really good job of staying patient.”
The set included dueling challenges from the coaches that twice reversed a point. A shot down the line by Westerberg was initially ruled in, but was overturned upon replay review after UC Davis coach Dan Conners issued a challenge. Ah Mow countered by challenging that the Aggies had committed a net violation earlier in the rally, and after a second review the point was awarded back to UH, which gave the Wahine a 7-4 lead.
The Wahine took control of the set when Alexander sparked a 9-1 surge with a personal three-point run with two kills and a block. Westerberg and Braelyn Akana teamed up on two blocks in the run, the second giving UH a 16-6 lead. Igeide served up back-to-back aces late in the set and Wagoner ended it with a kill out of the back row.
The teams again traded sideouts for much of the third set, and after UC Davis tied it at 19-19, Alexander shook off back-to-back errors with a kill off the block and a block of her own to give the Wahine the lead for good. Alexander and Westerberg then put away the final two kills of the night.
UC Davis outside hitter Demari Webb, who had 14 kills in 29 error-free attempts in a four-set win over UC Riverside on Tuesday, led the Aggies (6-6, 1-1) with eight kills in 29 swings on Friday.
“They were disciplined on what they needed to do,” Ah Mow said of UH’s defensive effort.
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