HONOLULU — A match of wild momentum swings ended with the University of Hawai'i women's volleyball team sending off its senior class with a rousing 25-23, 25-23, 14-25, 25-17 win over Long Beach State on Saturday at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
 
A season-high crowd of 8,216 watched the Rainbow Wahine get off to a ragged start to trail by as many as 10 at 18-8 before mounting a stunning, comeback run scoring 10-straight with Kendra Ham serving to to tie then overtake the Beach in Set 1 while middle blocker Amber Igiede's final kill on the court she's called home for five years punctuated the Senior Night victory.
 
With the win, the Rainbow Wahine (21-8, 14-4 Big West) clinched the second seed in the upcoming Big West Championship at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif. UH will have a bye in the first round and will open the inaugural conference tournament in the semifinals on Nov. 24. UH will face the winner of the first-round match between third-seeded Cal Poly and sixth-seed UC Davis.
 
Igiede bid aloha to the home crowd tying her season-high with 21 kills on 37 swings to hit .432. Igiede enters the Big West Championship with 1,325 career kills, becoming the 12^th player to go over 1,300 mark.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Caylen Alexander came off the bench and ignited the first set comeback, putting away 19 kills. Senior Kendra Ham set a career high with four service aces as UH avenged its three-set loss at Long Beach State on Sept. 29.
 
UH setter Kate Lang matched her season high with 50 assists and head nine digs. Libero Tayli Ikenaga led the defense with 15 digs.
 
UH seniors Igiede, Ham, outside hitter Riley Wagoner, middle blocker Kennedi Evans, defensive specialist Talia Edmonds and Chandler Cowell were honored in the traditional senior night ceremony following the match.
 
In Set 1, Long Beach State raced out to a 5-0 lead in the opening set and prompted an early UH timeout after an ace off the tape. The Beach extended their run to 7-0 and led 12-3 before UH recorded its first kill of the match on its 13^th attempt.
 
LBSU led 18-8 when Igiede hammered her first kill of the night and added another during a 4-to-0 UH run. An ace from Ham, Alexander's fourth kill, Igiede's third and another Ham ace closed the gap to 18-16 and Beach took its second timeout in the run
 
Igiede and Lang teamed on a block then Lang won a joust at the net to improbably tie the set and cap UH's 10-0 surge. Wagoner's tip-shot fell to give UH its first lead at 20-19.
 
UH's defense sparked a rally that ended with a kill by Evans in the middle to give UH a 23-21 lead and the 'Bows earned set point when Beach couldn't return Paula Guersching's kill. Beach survived the first set point, but a serve into the net completed the UH's comeback.
 
The 'Bows rolled the momentum into the second set to take an 8-4 lead. Alexander's one-handed "Kong Block" and Lang's ace added highlights to an extended run that stretched to 25-9 bridging the sets.
 
UH led 15-9 when LBSU went on a 4-0 run, which ended with Igiede's 10^th kill in her 13^th swing. Beach continued to chip away and caught UH at 17-17 and moved ahead 19-18. Beach led 21-19 when Igiede again scored in the middle and Ham landed her career-high fourth ace.
 
With the set tied at 23-23, UH outlasted Beach in an extended rally to earn set point. Alexander dove past the baseline for a dig that Ikenaga sent back over the net to keep the point alive and Beach hit wide to end the set and send UH into the intermission with a 2-0 lead.
 
Long Beach State opened the third set with an 8-1 burst and opened up a 20-11 lead. This time, Beach finished off the rout to extend the match.
 
UH led at 11-8 to start the fourth set then took command with a 5-0 run triggered by a block by Igiede and Lang, a thunderous kill by Igiede and an ace from Alexander.
 
The Rainbow Wahine continued to pull away and, appropriately, three seniors had a hand in the final point of the night. With UH leading 24-17, Edmonds entered the match to serve aloha ball. Ham came up with a dig and Igiede pounded her final kill to start the celebration.
 
Elise Agi led Long Beach State (19-9, 13-5) with 14 kills and Hanna Lesiak added 12. Beach is the fourth seed in the Big West Championship and will face UC Irvine in the first round on Nov. 22 with the winner taking on top-seeded UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals.