WACO, Texas — The University of Hawai'i women's volleyball team capped its first road trip of the season with a four-set loss to No. 20 Baylor on Saturday at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.
Following a familiar pattern, the Rainbow Wahine dropped the first set to the Bears before heating up in the second to hit .515 and even the match. But Baylor (8-3) put together decisive runs late in the third and fourth sets to finish off a 25-14, 21-25, 25-14, 25-17 victory over the 'Bows (6-4).
UH began the trip with a five-set loss at UNLV on Tuesday then fell in four to No. 8 Texas on Friday and Baylor on Saturday to finish the nonconference portion of the schedule. The three-game skid is UH's longest since opening the 2022 season 0-3 at the Texas A&M Invitational.
UH outside hitter
Caylen Alexander led the Rainbow Wahine with a match-high 18 kills while hitting .302 and popped up 10 digs in her eighth double-double of the season and 18
th of her career.
Setter
Kate Lang posted double-double No. 40 for her career with 35 assists and 11 digs to go along with three kills.
UH got offensive production in the middle with freshman
Miliana Sylvester putting away 10 kills while hitting .350 and
Jacyn Bamis adding nine kills on 18 attempts to hit .389.
Libero
Tayli Ikenaga had 10 digs to post double-digits in nine of 10 matches this season.
Elise McGhee led Baylor with 16 kills and Kendal Murphy added 13 kills and served up three of the Bears' nine aces. Manuela Bibinbe was in on eight of Baylor's nine blocks, including three solo, and the Bears' offense hit .376 for the match to UH's .231.
UH traded points with Baylor early on with Alexander scoring on six of her first eight swings only to see the Bears bolt away midway through the first set. UH trailed 13-12 before Baylor closed the set on a 12-2 run to take the opener.
UH won the second set for the sixth time in 10 matches and third time on the road trip by posting its highest hitting percentage in a set this season. The 'Bows put away 17 kills in 33 attacks without an error in the set with Bamis and Sylvester combining to go 10-for-10 with five kills each in the middle. Bamis broke a 19-19 tie then hammered UH's next three kills as well to give UH set point and a Baylor error tied the match.
The third and fourth sets reverted to the pattern of the first with Baylor closing Set 3 with a 9-2 run and finishing off the match with a 10-3 surge in the fourth. McGhee went 7-for-10 in the third set with an ace and had three more kills in the fourth. UH fell behind early in the fourth but caught the Bears at 14-14 with a four-point run highlighted by two Alexander aces. But Baylor broke away again with a 6-1 run earned its third straight win in the all-time series with UH.
The Rainbow Wahine return to SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center to open the Big West schedule next week. UH faces UC Irvine on Friday, Sept. 27 and Cal State Fullerton on Sept. 28.
#HawaiiWVB
