Riley Wagoner closed the deal on another Hawaii victory over erstwhile rival Long Beach State.

The Rainbow Wahine junior hitter put down kills on her team’s final four points of the match as UH recovered from a Set 3 lapse to defeat the Beach in four, 25-20, 25-21, 15-25, 25-19 at the Walter Pyramid on Friday night.

It was the first set dropped by UH (7-5, 4-0 Big West) in conference play this season.

Yet, it was also the 10^th time that UH got the better of LBSU (6-6, 1-3). The Beach’s six-match home winning streak, going back to the 2021 season, was snapped.

Wagoner, a 6-foot junior hitter from Dublin, Ohio, had 16 kills and six errors on 39 swings for a hitting percentage of .256. She was supported by freshman Caylen Alexander (13-4-38, .237) and junior middle Amber Igiede (10-4-23, .261).

She went crosscourt from the left pin to put the match away on UH's second match point.

UH as held to minus-.071 hitting in Set 3, when it managed just five kills to seven errors to LBSU’s 14 kills and two errors. But Robyn Ah Mow’s team recovered and forced 10 LBSU errors in Set 4.

Backup setter Mylana Byrd spelled starter Kate Lang in Set 4 and helped give the Wahine more presence at the net. LBSU outblocked UH 10-6.

LBSU had the best hitting percentage of a Big West opponent in 2022 at .229. UH hit .233.

UH notched 60 digs, led by Lang’s 13. Libero Tayli Ikenaga supplied 10.

UC Santa Barbara kept pace with UH at 4-0 in the conference with a sweep of Cal State Bakersfield.

The Wahine return to the Stan Sheriff Center next week to face UC Irvine (9-5, 2-2) on Friday and UC San Diego (8-8, 1-3) on Saturday.

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii.