MADISON, Wis. – The University of Hawai'i women's volleyball team saw its dream season come to an end following a straight-set loss to sixth-ranked Nebraska, Friday in an NCAA Regional semifinal match at UW Field House. Set scores were 29-27, 25-22, 25-19.
 
The Big West Conference champion Rainbow Wahine (26-4) saw their 13-match win streak come to an end while the five-time national champion and fifth-seeded Cornhuskers (28-4) advance to the regional finals where they will face host and fourth-seed Wisconsin.
 
UH was led by outside hitter Brooke Van Sickle, who matched her career-high of 14 kills, hitting .370. Senior Norene Iosia concluded a remarkable career with her 20^th double-double of the season with 19 assists and 13 digs, along with six kills. Senior McKenna Ross also wrapped up her career by finishing with 10 kills and seven digs. 
 
The Huskers were led by AVCA All-Region hitter Lexi Sun's 14 kills on .619 hitting. Jazz Sweet added 12 kills and three blocks. The Huskers hit .312 for the match, including .457 in the final set in which they went errorless in 35 attack attempts.
 
The first set was a battle. UH held the lead for the first half of the set before the Huskers scored four straight to retake the lead at 17-16. The 'Bows answered with a 5-2 run which included a pair of kills by Ross. UH had set point at 24-23 after a kill by Amber Igiede kill but the Huskers answered with two straight for their first set point. The teams traded side-outs until a UH double-block of Skyler Williams and Hanna Hellvig gave the Rainbow Wahine another set point at 27-26. But the Huskers scored the final two points with a block on Jolie Rasmussen and Van Sickle's attack error. 
 
Nebraska jumped out to a 4-1 lead in Set 2 forcing an early UH timeout. The lead was 6-1 before the 'Bows scored four unanswered to close the deficit to one at 10-9. After a pair of Cornhusker points, Hawai'i strung together three straight capped by a Van Sickle ace to tie the score at 14. An ace by Igiede gave the 'Bows their first lead at 16-15. But the Huskers big block came alive, stuffing the Rainbow Wahine on consecutive plays during a 5-0 run for a 21-17 lead. 
 
Hawai'i would not go away. Down 24-19, the 'Bows erased three set points with another Van Sickle kill followed by a pair of blocks by Igiede, cutting the deficit to two. After a Nebraska timeout, Williams' attack attempt failed to reach the floor and the Rainbow Wahine found themselves down 0-2 in the match.
 
UH again got off to a slow start in Set 3, trailing 5-1 and were forced to call another early timeout. But much like the second set, the 'Bows rallied back, tying the score at 8 with four straight kills. The Huskers regained the advantage and took a 15-12 lead  after a kill by Sweet. The Rainbow Wahine pulled to within one and the teams traded side-outs until the Huskers stuffed Van Sickle for a 20-17 lead. The deficit proved too much for Hawai'i as Nebraska scored five of the final six points and Sun's 14^th kill ended the match.
 
The 18^th-ranked Rainbow Wahine were making their second Regional appearance in the last eight years and first since 2015. It was the first regionals for third-year head coach Robyn Ah Mow, who was named Big West co-Coach of the Year and AVCA Pacific North Regional Coach of the Year. The match also concluded the careers of Iosia, Ross, setter Bailey Choy, outside hitter Kirsten Sibley, and libero Rika Okino.


2019 NCAA Madison All-Regional Team
Brooke Van Sickle, Hawaii
Hollan Hans, Texas A&M
Lexi Sun, Nebraska
Jazz Sweet, Nebraska
Sydney Hilley, Wisconsin
Dana Rettke, Wisconsin
MVP – Molly Haggerty, Wisconsin