HONOLULU—The University of Hawai'i women's volleyball  team fell short in five sets to Cal Poly, 25-10, 22-25, 25-15, 14-25, 12-15 on Friday night at the SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. In the loss, Caylen Alexander put down a match-high 18 kills. The loss drops Hawai'i to third in The Big West standings with a 17-7 overall record and 10-3 in conference mark. Cal Poly improved to 16-10 overall and 10-4 in the Big West.
 
In Set 1 Hawai'i hit .333 as they rolled to take the first frame, 25-10. In Set 2, UH struggled with nine hitting errors to hit for .143. UH rebounded in Set 3 hitting a whopping .417 with 19 kills and just four errors in 36 attacks. But over the final two sets combined, Hawai'i committed 12 hitting errors plus nine reception errors—five of which came in the final frame alone. UH hit just .036 in Sets 4 and 5 sets combined.
 
It marked Alexander's 12^th double-digit kill match of the season. She also was in on a two blocks with six digs and a pair of aces.
 
Senior middle Amber Igiede finished two digs shy of a double-double with 11 kills and eight digs to go with two assists and two blocks.
 
Senior pin-hitter Kendra Ham came off the bench to spark UH in Set 3, putting down six kills in the third and nine total kills for the match while hitting .538 (9-2-13) with five digs.
 
Junior setter Kate Lang notched her team-leading ninth double-double of the season with 44 assists and 16 digs plus one block solo.
 
Hawai'i led the opening frame from the get go. An early four-point run with Paula Guersching serving gave UH a 7-2 lead. Later, Hawai'i scored six-straight with Riley Wagoner behind the service line which extended their lead to 16-5. The Rainbow Wahine kept rolling and captured the first frame, 25-10.
 
The Mustangs answered right back. Cal Poly led by as many as six at 20-14. The 'Bows rallied to close to within one on a 7-to-2 run at 23-22, but the Mustangs won the final two points to knot the match at a set apiece.
 
In Set 3, Hawai'i jumped out to an early 7-4 lead and slowly pulled away with mini runs. A 6-to-1 run gave the 'Bows a 20-13 advantage. UH's senior Kendra Ham came off the bench in the third and sparked UH against her former team. At one point, she buried three-straight kills to give UH a 20-12 lead. Ham finished the set with six kills on no errors in eight attempts for a .750 hit percentage. Hawai'i would win by 10, 25-15.
 
A seven-point run by Cal Poly at the beginning of Set 4 was all the Mustangs needed as they cruised to win Set 4 going away, 25-14—which was a UH season-low for scoring output in a set. The Mustangs tied the match two sets apiece.
 
After a 6-to-2 Cal Poly run , the Rainbow Wahine found themselves trailing 9-4 in the fifth set's race to 15. Hawai'i fought their way back to tie the score at 12-12, But the Mustangs would score the final three-straight points to hold off UH 15-12. It was the Mustangs' first win in the Stan Sheriff Center since 2017.
 
It is the first time during the tenure of head coach Robyn Ah Mow that Hawai'i has suffered three conference  losses. UH is now 2-3 in five set matches. Cal Poly is 8-2 in five setters this season.
 
Hawai'i had the edge on Cal Poly in kills (60-to-43), hitting percentage (.200-to-.159), and assists (55-to-44). But the Mustangs served tough which resulted in 10 aces--nine of which came in the final two sets combined.

The Rainbow Wahine have a quick turnaround as they take on conference leader UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 7:00 p.m. HT.