Big West-leading Rainbow Wahine take on Roadrunners

And then there was one …
With UC Santa Barbara’s four-set loss at UC Davis on Saturday, Hawaii enters Saturday’s match with Cal State Bakersfield as the lone undefeated team in Big West play.
The Rainbow Wahine (10-5, 7-0 BWC) will try to end the weekend alone in first place when they take on the Roadrunners (10-5, 3-4) at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center in the third meeting between the programs. UH swept a two-match series with CSUB in 2015. The Roadrunners joined the Big West in 2020 but had their women’s volleyball debut delayed by the pandemic.
CSUB closed the non-conference portion of the schedule with the best record in the Big West at 7-1 with four matches canceled. The Roadrunners won road matches at UC Davis and UC Riverside but were blitzed by Cal Poly on Tuesday.
UH opened its homestand with a 25-19-25-19, 25-22 sweep of Cal Poly on Friday. Amber Igiede led UH with 13 kills and Brooke Van Sickle added 10.
Updates for tonight’s 7 p.m. match follow below:
SET 3
>> CSUB out to a 2-0 lead on two UH errors. UH answers with a kill by Wagoner off an assist by Ikenaga and a Wagoner/Igiede block to make it 3-3.
>> Wagoner with her third kill of the set off a bump set from Igiede to make it 6-5 CSUB. Elesaia wins a joust at the net and her tough serve leads to a lift call on Lang to give the Roadrunners a 10-7 lead.
>> UH ties it at 11-11 on Wagoner’s kill off the block to end a long rally that included two digs by Lang. Lang with a double-double with 30 assists and 10 digs. A Boiseau tip is blocked by Igiede and UH leads 14-13. Lang’s tip falls for a kill to give UH a 15-14 edge at the media timeout.
>> Both teams scramble to keep a rally alive before Boiseau ends it with a kill in the middle. Elesaia scores with a tip and Milica Vukobrat gets her eighth kill to give CSUB a 17-15 lead. Timeout UH.
>> Van Sickle goes cross court to end CSUB’s 3-0 run. Williams and Leoniak combine on a block of Vukobrat. Leoniak gets a kill from the right side and Van Sickle follows from the left. Suddenly UH leads 19-17. Timeout CSUB.
>> Lang remains on the service line and Van Sickle turns an Ikenaga bump set into a kill. McCluskey hits long and Williams and Van Sickle put away two more kills. UH on an 8-0 run and leads 23-17. Timeout CSUB.
>> CSUB finally gets Lang off the service line but an error gives UH match point. Williams puts it away for her ninth kill and UH wins it 25-18, 25-20, 25-18. Rainbow Wahine (11-5, 8-0) alone in first place in the Big West.

SET 2
>> Leoniak stays in to start the second set. CSUB again jumps ahead with a 4-0 lead, with some shaky passing for UH. Elesaia’s ace makes it 5-0. Leoniak hits wide. Timeout UH.
>> Van Sickle gets one to fall off the block for UH’s first point of the set and her second kill of the match. Leoniak sets up Van Sickle for a back-row kill to make it 8-5 CSUB. Roadrunners go up 12-6 on an ace by Haley McCluskey.
>> UH on a 4-0 run to close to 12-10. Williams and Van Sickle combine on UH’s fourth block. Igiede with two digs to keep a rally alive and CSUB hits out. Timeout CSUB.
>> Van Sickle goes down the line to get UH within a point. CSUB keeps the lead with a block by Brooke Boiseau. Williams taps down an overpass to make it 15-14 and UH ties it up on an Igiede/Wagoner block. A CSUB error gives UH a 16-15 lead.
>> Eight straight sideouts makes it 20-19 UH. A Williams/Van Sickle block of Makanova gives UH a 21-19 edge. Makanova’s tip lands out, CSUB challenges that UH was in the net. Call Stands, UH leads 22-20. Williams ends a long rally with her sixth kill. Wagoner gets a touch call on her swing and UH has set point, 24-20. Timeout CSUB.
>> A dig by Ikenaga sets up Lang for a back set to Leoniak. The timing isn’t perfect but Leoniak’s roll shot falls in the middle of the CSUB defense. UH wins the set 25-20 and leads the match 2-0.

SET 1
>> Familiar starting lineup for UH: OH Brooke Van Sickle, MB Amber Igiede, OH Riley Wagoner, MB Skyler Williams, S Kate Lang, OH Braelyn Akana, L Tayli Ikenaga.
>> CSUB’s Seleisa Elesaia starts the match with serve and the Roadrunners score the first three points of the match. After a Williams kill in the middle, CSUB goes on another 3-0 run and its quickly 6-1 Roadrunners. CSUB had put away 4 of its first five swings. UH is 1-for-8 with two errors. Early timeout for UH.
>> CSUB gets a block coming out of the timeout to go up 7-1. Martyna Leoniak subs into the front row for Akana.
>> Williams and Leoniak team on a block and Ikenaga goes back for a four-point service run and UH closes to 7-6 on a Leoniak kill from the right side. After a CSUB kill, Leoniak gets another kill and a CSUB error tie the set at 8-8. UH takes its first lead on an Igeide/ Wagoner block. Leoniak with a big swing down the line from the back row for her third kill. CSUB hits long twice in a row and UH leads 12-8. Timeout CSUB. UH is now on an 11-1 run.
>> Leoniak’s six-point run on the service line ends with a CSUB kill. Teams trade sideouts and Van Sickle goes off the block for her first kill of the night. CSUB hits wide and UH leads 18-11. Timeout CSUB.
>> CSUB’s Hana Makonova gets a kill in the middle after the timeout. The next serve is ruled out but CSUB will challenge. Call stands, UH leads 19-12. Williams gets her third kill, Wagoner goes off the bock for her first, Igiede kill in transition makes it 22-14.
>> CSUB on a 4-0 run with two blocks on Wagoner to close to 22-18. After a service error, Wagoner comes up with a dig in the back row right to Kate Lang at the net for an assist at Igiede. Lang goes to Igiede again on set point and UH wins it 25-18.