Hawaii women’s volleyball: Middles expand options for Wahine

Talk about good problems to have.

The Hawaii volleyball team displayed as balanced an attack as it has so far this young season in Sunday’s four-set defeat of previously unbeaten Denver in the Heineken Rainbow Wahine Invitational.

With Sky Williams (10 kills, five blocks, tournament MVP) and Tiffany Westerberg (nine kills, .500 hitting) thriving in the middle to complement hitters Jolie Rasmussen, Brooke Van Sickle and Hanna Hellvig, UH had clean looks aplenty against the Pioneers.

When UH (6-0) wasn’t committing eight attack errors in dropping the second set 21-25, it pretty much had its way in taking the other three 25-16, 25-15, 25-18.

“Oh my gosh. It’s so much fun,” setter Bailey Choy said. “Obviously it makes my job hard because, if everyone’s doing well, who do I set? Then again, it makes it easy because I can set anyone.”

Setter Bailey Choy talked about how her #HawaiiWVB teammates adjusted to the lights delay late in the match and what the team has found in itself through six matches. pic.twitter.com/QoXX1eheC8

— Hawaii Warrior World (@hawaiiwworld) September 9, 2019

Williams has made dramatic strides. But Westerberg, a 6-foot-3 native of British Columbia, showed what she was capable of at the same time. Freshman middle Amber Igiede was quiet offensively but contributed three blocks.

Coach Robyn Ah Mow has by far her most options in the middle in her three-year tenure as head coach.

“In the last two years, yeah. Mags, (Emily) Maglio was the closest one,” Ah Mow said. “But yeah, it just opens up more offense, more things to run.

“As a coach, it feels great that you can go to anybody,” she said. “But Skyler, Skyler’s come a long way in the last two years. This year she’s pumping it up. And she’s doing great. I’m like, we need to get her the ball more. Get her the ball more. Look, we’re making them commit. They actually have to commit now. So Skyler’s doing awesome.”

On Westerberg, Ah Mow said: “She’s very athletic. And she can play off, she can play middle, right, left. Just maybe (we need) some more offense. I don’t know if it was the setter-hitter connection with Amber, maybe, maybe not. But just to get a new change in there. We did. She did pretty good. Good on the slides.”

#HawaiiWVB middle Tiffany Westerberg on her 9-kill, 14-swing, .500 hitting outing against Denver. pic.twitter.com/reybThQh7N

— Hawaii Warrior World (@hawaiiwworld) September 9, 2019

Westerberg could sense her opportunities opening on those.

“For sure,” she said. “We had a lot of 1-on-1s tonight. We ran the slides, and there were a lot of 1-on-1s there. And so that was the opportunity that we just took advantage of.”

It was a new career high for the Canadian, who opened up the tournament with eight kills against Army.

“I think I’ve been doing a great job coming in, making points, doing whatever the team needs,” she said. “I think that’s what Coach Rob (wants), that’s why I was recruited. Coming in, doing your role, backing up whoever needs to be backed up.”