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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hawaii middle blocker Amber Igiede goes for a kill during the first set.
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Fighting back tears as she was announced pregame for the final time at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center, Amber Igiede gave the hometown crowd one last memorable performance.
The fifth-year senior middle blocker had a match-high 21 kills and four blocks and helped Hawaii pull off a stunning comeback in the first set of an eventual 25-23, 25-23, 14-25, 25-17 win over Long Beach State tonight.
A season-high crowd of 7,265 saw the Rainbow Wahine overcome an 11-point deficit in the first set and score 20 of the final 27 points to set the tone for a fun sendoff for UH’s six seniors.
Hawaii (21-8, 14-4 Big West) secured the No. 2 seed in the conference and a bye in next week’s Big West tournament held in Long Beach, Calif.
UH will need to win matches on Friday and Saturday to secure a 30th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore Caylen Alexander sparked UH off the bench with 19 kills and nine digs and junior libero Tayli Ikenaga continued her stellar play with a team-high 15 digs.
Junior setter Kate Lang had 50 assists, nine digs and two blocks.
Igiede ended the match with one last kill giving her 1,325 for her career.
UH finished in a tie for second place with Cal Poly but came out ahead in a tiebreaker.
Elise Agi had 14 kills to lead the Beach (19-9, 13-5), who are the fourth seed in the tournament it hosts.
