COLLEGE STATION, Texas—The University of Hawai'i women's volleyball team (0-2, 0-0 Big West) fell to the sixth-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers (1-1, 0-0 ACC), 25-17, 25-16, 25-21 on Day 2 of the Texas A&M Invitational in College Station, Texas. Hawai'i's middle blockers led UH's offensive attack as Tiffany Westerberg put down a team-high nine kills with two blocks and Amber Igiede buried seven kills with no errors in 17 swings for a team-best .412 hitting percentage plus two blocks, two digs and a service ace.
 
Riley Wagoner posted a team-high 11 digs for her first double-digit dig match of the season. Setters Kate Lang and Mylana Byrd issued 24 and four assists respectively while five different Rainbow Wahine recorded a service ace each.
 
Hawai'i tried to make in-game adjustments, shuffling things around starting in the second set, searched for a combination that could gain some traction. Chandler Cowell, Annika de Goede and Byrd all made their season debuts for the Green and White. All of the eight UH hitters who made the trip to the "Lone Star State" recorded at least one kill in the match, but overall UH's offense struggled against Pitt's tall front line, getting out-blocked 12.0-to-4.0.
 
In the first set, Pitt powered out to a 17-10 lead. UH scored three-straight on a couple of kills by Igiede and a service ace by Kendra Ham to trail by four. But the Panthers scored the next seven to extend their lead to 20-13, forcing a UH timeout. Pitt pulled away in the end scoring the last three points, 25-17.
 
Redshirt junior transfer Chandler Cowell and redshirt freshman Annika de Goede got the starting nod at outside hitter in the second set. For de Goede, it marked her first return to the court since a season ending injury held her our of UH's last 22 matches of 2021. UH spotted the Panthers a 4-0 lead right out of the gate. Pitt eventually built a seven point lead, serving at 12-5. Hawai'i would go on a 5-to-1 run  that was capped by a Cowell/Westerberg block to trail by three points at 13-10. Pitt called a timeout and from that point outscored UH, 12-6 down the stretch to win Set 2, 25-16.
 
Hawai'i kept the Panthers within striking distance early in the third but Pitt started to pull away and was serving at 22-16. The Rainbow Wahine battled back to rally on a 5-to-0 serving run by rookie Caylen Alexander to trim their deficit to one point at 22-21, forcing the Panthers to call their second timeout in two points. Pitt then closed out the match winning the final three points to seal the sweep over Hawai'i, 25-21.
 
Pitt's Valeria Vazquez Gomez had a match-high 12 kills while Serena Gray was in on a match-high nine blocks and Ashley Browske popped up a match-high 19 digs in three sets. Setters Cam Ennis and Rachel Fairbanks each recorded 16 assists.
 
The Rainbow Wahine will conclude the Texas A&M Invitational early Sunday morning (Aug. 28) at 5:00 a.m. HT against No. 25 San Diego (2-0).