Hawaii came out with the look of a team that was not ready to see its season come to an end in an NCAA volleyball subregional.

Second-seeded Oregon was taken aback by the moxie of the Rainbow Wahine, but not taken down, as the Ducks upped their play and were the beneficiaries of a controversial point that helped swing the momentum for good. The hosts then had little trouble in putting away the Rainbow Wahine for the second time in 2023, 25-23, 25-12, 25-17 at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore., on Friday.

UH (24-9), the Big West tournament champion, saw its season end in the NCAA second round for the second time in three years.

Coach Robyn Ah Mow was initially stoic at the post-game interview podium, but her voice shook when she spoke about the accomplishments of her players.

“This game and the ending of this season doesn’t define this group, for me,” she said. “Just the experiences we had with this group, I think it outweighs this game.

"Obviously nobody likes to lose in three and we didn’t play the best game we could’ve played. But I’m not going to let that game define these girls and what they put into our program."

Oregon (28-5) of the Pac-12 advanced to face third-seeded Purdue in the Wisconsin regional.

That was the stage UH reached in 2019, when middle Amber Igiede and hitter Riley Wagoner were true freshmen as part of Ah Mow's first recruiting class. They were ultimately unable to replicate the feat; Igiede, one of the program’s all-time greats, was held to four kills, her fewest since she had three against San Diego on Sept. 3, 2021.

Igiede, an All-America selection in 2022, finished her career with 1,367 kills, 526 blocks, 373 digs and 68 service aces.

The careers of Wagoner, defensive specialist Talia Edmonds, hitter Kendra Ham and middle Kennedi Evans also came to an end.

Caylen Alexander led UH with 13 kills Friday but committed 10 attack errors. Wagoner added six kills; no other player had more than four.

“I think I’m just super proud of the team and just everything we accomplished,” said Wagoner, an Ohio native who was a rotation mainstay for the bulk of her UH career. “Not ending on a loss, but just looking back on our last couple games and the Big West (championship) was a really big achievement for us and finishing strong with our play. Today didn’t work out how we wanted it to, obviously, but I think we still finished pretty strong in our books.”

Morgan Lewis led the Ducks with 14 kills on 21 error-free swings (.667). UO hit .266 to UH’s season-worst .061.

The Ducks swept UH in the season-opening Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu on Aug. 27. Both teams felt they became considerably better in the intervening months, and UH, which beat seventh-seeded Iowa State on Thursday, appeared to prove it at the outset of Friday’s match.

The Rainbow Wahine came out firing away and took a 10-4 lead, forcing an early UO timeout. UH seemed well in command with an eight-point lead at 13-5, and by seven at 19-12. But the Ducks got a call reversed and rode that momentum back into the set with a 7-1 run. UH led for the last time at 23-22 on Alexander’s sixth kill of the frame, then UO scored the next three points — the last on a possible reach-over interference of a Kate Lang set attempt by Karson Bacon that was not called.

Such a judgment call — or non-call — by an official is not challengeable.

"I think we got everything we expected from Hawaii, especially in that first set, UO coach Matt Ulmer said. "I thought they were fantastic. Their energy was through the roof, their defensive intensity, their serving. I thought they were just giving us fits. Just really proud of us to respond the way we did and to be able to come back."

The momentum continued for the hosts into Set 2, despite Ah Mow's insertion of Tali Hakas and backup setter Jackie Matias to change up the energy. UH fell behind 9-3, clawed back to 9-7, then gave up seven straight points. Alexander was roofed on consecutive points and the sophomore committed a third straight error, and UH suddenly trailed 20-9. Alexander was blocked again on set point. The Wahine hit into the negative in the woeful set, with five kills against 10 errors.

“I don’t think Oregon is a tough team to hit against; I think it just comes down to our side, like are we delivering the ball out all the way, or not,” Alexander said.

UH stared at another hole, 6-1, just moments into Set 3. UH would fight back to within 11-10 on a double block by Igiede and Matias.

The Wahine had their last real gasp on a Wagoner kill to get within 18-15. Oregon went on a 7-2 run to close it out.

Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.