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Coming off a statement win on Tuesday, Cal State Fullerton rode the momentum to an early lead in Friday’s match with Hawaii.
Then Amber Igiede rotated into the front row for the Rainbow Wahine.
The middle blocker hammered a kill in the middle, then helped send back two blocks to spark a 7-1 UH surge and the Rainbow Wahine went on to roll to a sweep of the Big West women’s volleyball match at Titan Gym in Fullerton, Calif.
Igiede put away eight of her match-high 14 kills in the first set and UH (6-5, 3-0 Big West) remained perfect in the all-time series with Cal State Fullerton with a 25-20, 25-15, 25-13 win in a tidy 81 minutes.
UH outside hitters Caylen Alexander and Riley Wagoner added 10 kills apiece and he Wahine hit .318 as a team while holding Cal State Fullerton (8-4, 2-2) to .133. Wagoner hit a career-high .455 and had two blocks, including a solo roof in UH’s 11-0 run in the third set.
“Offensively it was pretty evenly spread so we’re really happy about that,” Igiede, who finished with four blocks and hit .522 for the match, said in a phone interview. “It gives us the confidence that it’s not just one-hitter heavy. Every hitter can be successful as well.”
UH improved to 46-0 in the series with Cal State Fullerton and continues the road trip today against Long Beach State (6-5, 1-2) at the Walter Pyramid.
“It’s going to be really fun to play in the Pyramid,” Igiede said. “There’s nothing like playing in the Pyramid. It’s probably one of my favorite places to play besides the Stan (Sheriff Center).”
The Wahine enter today’s play tied with UC Santa Barbara atop the Big West standings. The Gauchos defeated Cal Poly in four sets on Friday, leaving the conference with just two 3-0 teams.
Cal State Fullerton had won seven of its last eight matches and knocked off Long Beach State in four sets on Tuesday. The Titans entered the match as the Big West leader in digs, but the Wahine countered with 44 digs — led by libero Tayli Ikenaga’s 12 — to Fullerton’s 37.
They converted defense into offense in giving setter Kate Lang opportunities to distribute 30 assists spread throughout the UH attack.
“That’s our game,” UH coach Robyn Ah Mow said. “We have to be good in serve (and) pass, and we have to keep going with our defense.”
Lang and Wagoner finished with nine digs each and the Wahine didn’t allow an ace while serving up six, the last delivered by middle blocker Kennedi Evans on match point. The transfer from Utah made her UH debut late in the third set in her comeback from a knee injury and the Wahine coaches were able to get most of the active roster into the match.
“In practice they work just as hard so having them come in is just so rewarding,” Igiede said. “(Evans is) so fun to be around so we’re so happy she got a chance to show what she’s got.”
Igiede hit long on her first swing of Friday’s match then put down eight of her next 10 without an error to power the Wahine in the first set.
Cal State Fullerton’s Lyla Traylor scored on her first five swings and the Titans led 11-7. Igiede then took over at the net and put down the last three kills in a 10-3 UH run.
“When I go in, I just really want to bring energy and talk it up as much as possible and hopefully it hepls the game flow and I think we just got on a roll,” Igiede said.
WIth UH up 22-20, Igiede scored on a slide, then gave Alexander a bump set for a kill to give UH set point. Alexander, the reigning Big West freshman of the week, then put away her sixth kill of the set with 11 error-free swings.
UH jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second set with the aid of four Fullerton errors and broke away with a 14-4 surge capped by a Lang ace that gave the Wahine set point.
UH edged out to an 8-7 lead in the third set before going on an 11-0 run with Ikenaga on the service line. Wagoner had two kills and a solo block in the run and Ah Mow was able to clear the bench and Evans closed out the match with her first UH ace.
Traylor led Cal State Fullerton with nine kills. UH held Fullerton senior Julia Crawford, the Titans’ kills leader at 3.10 per set entering the match, to three total kills on 23 attempts. Kamehameha alumna Nadia Koanui had nine digs and two assists.
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