Yet again, the Hawaii women’s volleyball team underscored the notion that, in this year, with this group, anything is possible.
Not for the first time this season, a loss to a Big West also-ran was followed immediately by an inspired performance against a first-place team, as the Rainbow Wahine defeated UC Davis, 26-24, 21-25, 25-9, 25-18 at University Credit Union Center in Davis, Calif., on Saturday afternoon.
UH (16-8, 10-4 BWC) moved back into a first-place tie with the Aggies (15-8, 10-4) with four matches to play before the six-team Big West championships in Irvine, Calif. Set 3 was UH's most lopsided win in a Big West frame since 2022 against CSUN, and the Wahine closed Set 4 in emphatic fashion.
Of potential importance for tiebreaking purposes, the Wahine got it done in four sets, returning a favor for a four-set loss to UCD in Honolulu on Oct. 11. The top two teams receive first-round byes in the tournament.
The Wahine lost for the first time ever against lowly UC Riverside on Thursday, which appeared to hamstring UH’s chances of a top-two finish. But Robyn Ah Mow’s 2024 team does some of its best work after picking itself off the TeraFlex.
Hitter Caylen Alexander put down a match-high 21 kills on 51 swings and was one of four UH players with double-digit digs as the Wahine went plus-19 over Davis in that statistic. Tali Hakas supplied 14 kills on an efficient .480 and chipped in 15 digs, while middles Jacyn Bamis and Miliana Sylvester combined for 18 kills.
Setter Kate Lang had 51 assists and eight digs with two aces. Libero Tayli Ikenaga had 19 digs and defensive specialist Victoria Leyva 10 with two aces.
Jade Light put down 15 kills to lead UC Davis. Le Jardin Academy graduate Reese Diersbock added 11 kills on .333 hitting with four digs.
UH heads home for its final homestand of the season, against two contenders in Long Beach State (14-9, 8-5) on Friday and UC San Diego (15-9, 9-4) on senior night Saturday.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.