HONOLULU — The University of Hawai'i women's volleyball team exacted a measure of turnabout with a sweep of UC Santa Barbara on Friday at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
Less than two weeks after being swept by the Gauchos in Santa Barbara, Calif., the Rainbow Wahine (14-7, 8-3 Big West) turned in a commanding performance in the rematch and rolled to a 25-14, 25-21, 25-17 victory to start the second round of conference play.
UH setter
Kate Lang directed the Rainbow Wahine attack to a .364 hitting percentage with 40 assists, served up two aces and put down six kills of her own to tie the career high she set against UCSB on Nov. 25, 2022. That was also the last time UH had defeated the Gauchos prior to Friday night's 98-minute sweep. UCSB had won the last three meetings, including the sweep at The Thunderdome on Oct. 19.
Caylen Alexander posted match highs with 19 kills and 13 digs in her 13
th double-double of the season.
Jacyn Bamis added 11 kills in 17 attempts and
Miliana Sylvester finished with seven kills in 13 error-free swings and the UH middles hit a combined .467.
With the win, UH moved into a tie with Cal Poly (15-7, 8-3) for second place in the Big West race heading into Saturday's showdown between the 'Bows and Mustangs. UH and Cal Poly ended Friday's play one game behind UC Davis (14-6, 9-2), which lost in five sets at UC San Diego shortly before the start of the UH-UCSB match.
UCSB scored the first point of the match then didn't lead again over the first two sets. The 'Bows came out firing in the rematch to take an 11-5 lead in the opening set. Alexander and Bamis started a combined 7 for 10 while UCSB was 2 for 13 with two errors. Lang served up her second ace off the tape, then forced the Gauchos out of system to set up kills by Bamis and Hakas and UH extended the lead to 18-9. UH allowed just two natural points in the set, converting on 12 of 14 sideout opportunities, and remained in command through Alexander's kill out of the back row on set point.
UH kept it rolling in a 6-0 start to the second set. UCSB went on a 5-0 run to get back into the set and stayed close until three-point UH run with Hakas on the service line gave the 'Bows a 21-15 lead. UH earned set point at 24-19 and UCSB fended off two points before a shot into the net closed out the set and gave UH a 2-0 lead.
UCSB took its second lead of the match early in Set 3 before UH again moved ahead. The 'Bows led 17-15 before going on a 5-1 run and opened up a 22-16 lead on an ace by
Victoria Leyva. Alexander had three digs in a rally she finished with a tip into the center of the court to push UH to match point. Two points later, Alexander hammered her 19
th kill on a sharp angle to snap UCSB's winning streak in the series.
Eva Travis led UCSB (10-14, 6-6) with 11 kills in 36 attempts and the Gauchos hit .204 as a team.
Saturday's match between UH and Cal Poly closes out the 'Bows' three-match homestand. UH will honor head coach
Robyn Ah Mow and fellow former UH standout, three-time Olympian and USA Volleyball Hall of Famer Heather Bown. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
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