Rainbow Wahine open Big West volleyball season with sweep of UC Davis
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hawaii’s Tiffany Westerberg hits against the UC Davis Aggies.
JASON KANESHIRO / JKANESHIRO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Coming out of its lone bye week of the season, the Rainbow Wahine hit .293 as a team to the Aggies’ .131 and finished with nine blocks and 48 digs.
Hawaii outside hitter Riley Wagoner posted her first double-double of the season and the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team opened the Big West season with a 25-22, 25-14, 25-21 sweep of UC Davis tonight at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
Wagoner put away a match-high 12 kills and popped up 11 digs, and middle blocker Amber Igiede added 10 kills on .389 hitting as UH improved to 18-1 in the all-time series with UC Davis and picked up its 16th straight win over the Aggies before a crowd of 4,066.
Coming out of its lone bye week of the season, the Rainbow Wahine hit .293 as a team to the Aggies’ .131 and finished with nine blocks and 48 digs — led by libero Tayli Ikenaga’s 13. Tiffany Westerberg hammered an overpass on match point for her eighth kill in a .412 hitting performance. Freshman Caylen Alexander also finished with eight kills in her Big West debut.
The two-time defending Big West champion Rainbow Wahine (4-5, 1-0) conclude their homestand on Saturday against UC Riverside (2-8, 0-1).
>> PHOTOS: Hawaii vs. UC Davis
The Wahine and Aggies saw nine ties and four lead changes in the opening set before UH edged away late. The Aggies tied it at 19 before a service error gave UH the lead and Wagoner put away two kills in the 4-1 Wahine run. UC Davis closed to 23-22, but an attack error gave UH set point and Igiede tapped down a kill to give UH the lead in the match.
The Wahine took control of the second set with a 9-1 run. Alexander scored three consecutive points 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. Igiede served up back-to-back aces late in the set and Wagoner ended it with a kill out of the back row.
The teams 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 put away the final two kills of the night.
UC Davis outside hitter Demari Webb led the Aggies (6-6, 1-1) with eight kills in 29 swings.
