HONOLULU — The University of Hawai'i women's volleyball team started fast and finished strong to emerge with a five-set victory over Loyola Marymount in the OUTRIGGER Invitational on Friday at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
The Rainbow Wahine dominated the first two sets, then came up short in two tight battles, and went to a fifth set for the second time this season. For a second straight night, UH senior
Panna Ratkai sparked UH late with five kills and two aces in the fifth set to help the 'Bows earn the 25-10, 25-18, 22-25, 26-28, 15-11 victory.
UH improved to 3-2 on the season in handing LMU (4-1) its first loss.
Ratkai finished with a season-high 21 kills, 11 coming in the final two sets, and had 10 digs in her second double-double of the season. She also fired three of UH's 10 service aces, including two back-to-back in the decisive fifth set.
Miliana Sylvester added 13 kills and freshman
Rachel Purser put away a season-best 10 kills on 18 error-free attempts to hit .556.
Libero
Victoria Leyva tied her career high with 29 digs to lead four UH players in double figures. Kāhea Moriwaki set a career high with 15 digs.
Adrianna Arquette had 10 to go along with 45 assists to post her second double-double of the season and 12
th of her career.
Leilani Lopez got the start as a defensive specialist and delivered two aces.
The Rainbow Wahine hit a season-best .471 in the first set with 17 kills and just one error in 34 attempts. Purser put down all six of her attacks and Sylvester went 5-for-7 in the opener. UH broke away early with a 12-2 run and closed out a dominant set with Purser's sixth kill.
UH held a 14-12 lead in the second set before taking command with a 6-1 run.
Tali Hakas had four kills without an error in eight attacks in the set and UH continued its hot start by hitting .345 as a team.
LMU took its first lead of the match in the third set and went up 15-12 at the technical timeout. UH rallied to take a 22-21 lead, but the Lions closed the set on a 4-0 run to extend the match.
The teams traded momentum in the fourth set and UH rallied from a 19-15 deficit to tie the Lions at 20-20. UH appeared to close out the win at 27-25 when an LMU attack was ruled out, but the call was overturned after a review and the Lions earned the next two points to send the match to the fifth set.
Ratkai had three kills and Leyva delivered an ace in a 4-1 UH run to open the decisive set. The 'Bows led 8-3 when Ratkai landed consecutive aces and earned match point at 14-8. LMU survived three more points before a service error ended the duel.
The OUTRIGGER Invitational concludes on Sunday with the Rainbow Wahine taking on former Big West rival UC San Diego at 5 p.m. UCSD nearly overcame a 2-0 deficit against Utah Tech in Friday's first match, before falling short in the fifth set.
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