HONOLULU — The University of Hawai'i women's volleyball team swept past New Mexico for a second straight night in the finale of their two-match Mountain West Conference series on Saturday at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
The Rainbow Wahine served up seven aces and held the Lobos to .109 hitting, raising their record to 10-3 overall and 2-0 in conference play with the 25-20, 25-18, 25-18 victory.
Outside hitter
Panna Ratkai led the offensive charge with a match-high 15 kills on .302 hitting, adding six digs and two service aces. Middle blocker
Rachel Purser delivered a highly efficient performance, putting away eight kills on a .389 hitting percentage while adding four blocks.
Outside hitter
Cha'lei Reid also reached double figures, contributing 10 kills on .333 hitting in her second match back since returning from an injury.
Setter
Adrianna Arquette guided the attack with 32 assists, and libero
Victoria Leyva anchored the backcourt with a match-high 18 digs and served up two aces. Leyva had 21 digs in Friday's series opener and averaged 6.50 digs per set over the weekend.
Freshman
Cameron Holcomb delivered two aces, giving her six for the series, and came up with eight digs.
In the opening set, Hawai'i jumped to a quick 6-1 lead following a service ace by Holcomb and back-to-back New Mexico errors. The Lobos kept the score competitive late, but Ratkai fired an ace to set up set point before Purser secured the set with a kill.
New Mexico took a 6-1 advantage in the second set before UH went on a 16-4 run to take command. Arquette tied the frame at 9-9 with an ace, and Ratkai had an eight-point service turn highlighted by three kills from Reid. A kill from Ratkai pushed the UH lead to 24-18, and Ratkai's seventh kill of the set gave UH a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Lobos again took an early edge in the third set at 4-2 before Hawai'i responded with an 8-1 surge, highlighted by kills from Sylvester and Ratkai, to go up 10-5. The Rainbow Wahine maintained control the rest of the way, and Leyva had eight digs in the set to help UH close out the sweep.
Mina Stanojevic paced New Mexico (2-10, 0-2) with a double-double, recording 12 kills and 10 digs.
The Rainbow Wahine embark on their first conference road trip of the season and will travel to Phoenix, Ariz., for a series at Grand Canyon on Oct. 2 and 3.
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