TONY AVELAR / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER / DEC. 2
Hawaii’s Amber Igiede slammed the ball over LSU middle blocker Alia Williams during last Friday’s NCAA Tournament match in Stanford, Calif.
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Hawaii middle blocker Amber Igiede added to her collection of postseason awards on Tuesday with her selection to the AVCA Pacific North Region first team.
Igiede earned all-region honorable mention recognition as a freshman in 2019 and again last season. The junior moved up to the first team in a record-breaking season in which she ranked among the nation’s most efficient attackers and helped the Rainbow Wahine (22-7, 19-1 Big West) win a third straight Big West title.
Igiede ended the season fifth in the nation with a UH single-season record .433 hitting percentage and was named the Big West Player of the Year last week. She also made the All-Big West first team for the third time after she led the conference in hitting percentage and points per set (4.89) and finished second in kills per set (3.79) and blocks per set (1.29). She was also second on the team with 29 service aces and had 96 digs while playing one rotation in the back row.
Igiede’s hitting percentage broke the previous UH record of .419 set in 1996 by Angelica Ljungqvist, which made her the first UH player to hit over .400 since Olivia Magill hit .412 in 2015. She posted double-digit kills in 27 of 29 matches, hitting over .500 in 12 matches and over .600 in three.
UH has placed a player on an all-region team in 34 of 36 years since the selections began in 1986 (excepting the 2020-21 season, when the Big West did not hold a season).
Igiede was among four Big West players to receive regional honors. Cal Poly opposite Maia Dvoracek also made the Pacific North first team. UC Irvine middle blocker Onye Ofoegbu made the Pacific South Region first team and UC Santa Barbara libero Macall Peed was an honorable mention pick.
Three Hawaii high school graduates also earned all-region recognition. Stanford libero Elena Oglivie (‘Iolani) joined Igiede on the Pacific North first team. UNLV setter Jhenna Gabriel (Maryknoll) made the Pacific South team and Texas setter Saige Ka‘aha‘aina-Torres (‘Iolani) made the Southwest Region first team.
Oglivie and Ka‘aha‘aina- Torres, former ‘Iolani teammates, continue their seasons in the NCAA Tournament this week with both of their teams hosting regionals. Stanford faces Houston at Maples Pavilion and Texas faces Marquette in Austin, both on Thursday.
