Rainbow Wahine bounce back with win at Cal Poly
The Hawaii women’s volleyball team rebounded nicely today against Cal Poly.
Amber Igiede finished with 16 kills, and Paula Guersching and Caylen Alexander each added 12 as the Rainbow Wahine beat the Mustangs 25-18, 22-25, 25-21, 25-16 in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Hawaii, which was coming off a five-set loss to UC Santa Barbara on Friday, moved to 13-6 overall and 6-2 in Big West play. Hawaii and Long Beach State are tied for second behind UCSB (8-0).
Kate Lang finished with 44 assists, and Tayli Ikenaga, who was making her first start at libero this season in place of Talia Edmonds, had key service runs in the third and fourth sets for the Rainbow Wahine, who hit .194 for the match.
The first set had six ties and two lead changes before either team reached double figures.
The Rainbow Wahine went on an 8-1 run for a 14-9 advantage. The Mustangs were within 15-13 before Riley Wagoner put down all five of her first-set kills during a 10-5 Hawaii run.
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Igiede and Guersching also had five kills in the set for the Rainbow Wahine, who hit .467 with 17 kills and three errors.
Cal Poly (5-3, 11-9) took a 10-6 advantage in the second set before Hawaii tied it 17-17. The Mustangs responded with a 5-1 run to get some cushion. Ikenaga’s ace got Hawaii within 22-21, but consecutive kills by Lizzy Markovska got Cal Poly to set point. The second kill fell to the floor after a miscommunication by the Rainbow Wahine. Hawaii fought off one set point on a kill from Igiede before Annabelle Thalken’s kill ended it.
The Rainbow Wahine, who faced a lot more resistance at the net, hit .152 in the set.
In the third set, Ikenaga had an ace during a 5-0 run that put Hawaii up 13-10. The advantage reached 18-13 on a back-row kill by Alexander. The Rainbow Wahine scored the final two points of the set on a service error and Igiede’s left-handed kill.
Hawaii went on a 6-0 run with Ikenaga serving for a 19-14 lead in the fourth set. Igiede was a part of three double-blocks during the spurt. Alexander had an ace during a 5-0 run, which put the Rainbow Wahine ahead 24-15. Cal Poly saved one match point, but a hitting error by Markovska ended it.
Hawaii will conclude its three-match road trip Tuesday against UC Davis at 3 p.m.
