HONOLULU — Before Reese Diersbock could talk about her team’s momentous victory in a place it had never found success, she had some pressing business.
Diersbock sprinted back into the visitors locker room inside the Stan Sheriff Center and joined her UC Davis teammates in giving 10th-year head coach Dan Conners a thorough soaking with Gatorade bottles.
An accompanying cheer was audible from a tunnel outside.
[Note: See below for more photos of UC Davis-Hawaii volleyball.]
Such was the gravity of the moment for the Big West-leading Aggies, who hadn’t beaten UH in the Sheriff in 10 previous tries. On Friday night, they checked off an elusive box with a 22-25, 25-21, 28-26, 25-17 stunner for the crowd of 5,570 (6,804 tickets issued).
“We’ve never actually got to do that,” said Diersbock, a 6-foot sophomore from Kailua, of the dousing. “We saw no carpet and we’re like, ‘perfect.’”
The last time Diersbock, a Le Jardin Academy graduate, played a match in the Sheriff, the result was eerily similar: a celebration with her team on the floor and with people in the stands. Her LJA Bulldogs beat Hawaii Baptist Academy for the HHSAA Division II championship in November 2022.
The 6-foot sophomore has been a lineup staple in all 15 UCD matches this season as part of a starting group that remained intact from 2023, when the Aggies went 13-16. She put down 12 kills to go with four digs to supplement top options Olivia Utterback and Jade Light, who combined for 39 kills.
UCD did not play at UH last season as part of an unbalanced, 18-game league schedule, adding to Diersbock’s anticipation.
“I love winning in the Stan Sheriff,” she said with a laugh. “I’ve won twice now. When I watched when I was younger, I never thought I’d be on this court. And just being able to win here and have the home crowd here and hear Hawaii Pono‘i, is just amazing.”
The Aggies (10-5, 5-1 BWC) could feel the moment coming all season. They beat Kansas State on a neutral floor in Indiana in late August and even beat traditional power UCLA at University Credit Union Center in Davis on Sept. 19.
But to actually see what happened Friday transpire? Davis’ only win to date in the series was a five-setter in Northern California on Oct. 26, 2013. A streak of 18 UH victories followed.
“It's always a struggle playing here. The crowd is just so epic, and they are so into volleyball,” Diersbock said. “We know we have to bring our energy, even with the six-hour plane ride. I think we were ready for it this time. We really prepared ourselves mentally and physically. We really have been getting down to using more mental strategies to keep us in the zone, and it's really been working.”
UH (9-6, 3-2) has now lost at home to two programs it usually sends packing in UC Irvine and UC Davis. But it was coming off a sweep win over Long Beach State at the Walter Pyramid on Saturday with a resurgent effort from hitter Caylen Alexander, restoring some hope of normalcy for the proud program.
Right now, UH is just another team among a jam-packed top seven of the Big West. Cal Poly and LBSU are 4-1. Irvine, Cal State Bakersfield and UC Santa Barbara are alongside UH at 3-2.
“Whoever shows up (on a given night) is gonna win. Point blank,” Ah Mow said. “Whoever comes and shows up to play the game, they gonna win.”
Friday started well for UH as it claimed the first set but the match took a decided turn when the Wahine succumbed in extra points in Set 3. UCD staved off two UH set points, then hit .395 in Set 4 to pull away.
While UH was plus-16 on digs, it didn’t feel like it to those on the floor. Libero Tayli Ikenaga had 21, setter Kate Lang 10 and defensive specialist Victoria Leyva 15.
“Just our block D,” Ikenaga said of what began to slip from the second set and on. “Having our blocks line up, do their job, and then having the second line of defense try to set up and dig more balls. They definitely outdug us. We weren’t (picking up) balls like they were. Just picking that part of our game up for Sunday.”
UH hosts UC Riverside (5-13, 0-5) at 5 p.m. The Highlanders are winless against the Wahine in 30 attempts.
Serve-receive was also suspect as the Aggies lobbed in eight aces to UH’s three.
Alexander put down a team-high 15 kills with 11 digs and Tali Hakas had a season-high 11 kills. Alexander’s workload was reduced from her prolific norm; she swung 39 times to Hakas’ 31.
“Kate and Tali actually had some rhythm going,” Ah Mow said. “We just didn’t get these guys (middles) more involved.”
Middle Jacyn Bamis matched her career high of 11 kills on 17 error-free swings for a season-best .674 hitting percentage, and had two solo blocks among her three stuffs.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.