HONOLULU — Contributions from veterans and newcomers powered the University of Hawai'i women's volleyball team to a second straight sweep of Central Arkansas on Friday at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
Senior
Panna Ratkai led the Rainbow Wahine (6-2) with 15 kills, and freshman
Mano Antiga added nine in her collegiate debut to help UH fend off the Sugar Bears (0-7) 25-14, 25-20, 28-26 in the finale of their eight-match season-opening homestand.
Ratkai posted double-figure kills for the fifth straight match and hit .314 in UH's fifth consecutive victory. The win streak is UH's longest since reeling off seven in a row late in the 2023 season.
Antiga made her first UH appearance late in the first set and provided a spark in the third as she put away four kills in seven attempts without an error. Antiga hit .316 in her 19 attacks in the match.
Middle blocker
Miliana Sylvester finished with eight kills on .358 hitting and surpassed 500 career kills in the match. The junior also contributed a team-high four blocks.
Libero
Victoria Leyva came up with 15 digs, giving her 31 for the series. Setter
Adrianna Arquette had 34 assists, eight digs and two kills, including one to thwart a UCA set point in the third.
UH opened up a 12-6 lead in the first set on back-to-back kills by Ratkai. UH continued to pull away and led 20-11 when a kill from Maëli Cormier capped a four-point run. Antiga was summoned to the court for the first time this season and served the final three points of the set. Sylvester put down an overpass for her 500
th career kill and also had a block in UH's closing run.
UCA took its largest lead of the series with an 18-15 advantage in the second set. A kill from Cormier ignited a 7-0 UH run, and an ace from Ratkai gave the 'Bows a 22-18 lead. Sylvester pounded the final two kills of the set to give UH a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set was the tightest of the series with 18 ties and five lead changes.
Rachel Purser erased a 20-18 UCA lead with back-to-back kills, but the Sugar Bears edged ahead again at 23-21. After Sylvester and Antiga scored to tie it again, UCA earned a set point, but Arquette found the court to force deuce. UH moved ahead and UCA survived two match point opportunities until Ratkai brushed a kill off the block to seal the win.
The Rainbow Wahine embark on their first road trip of the season next week and will serve as the host team for the Lucky Aces Women's Volleyball Invitational set for Sept. 18-20 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. UH opens the tournament against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday, Sept. 18, and will also face Iowa State and UCLA in the event.
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