Rainbow Wahine open final homestand vs. CSUN

After nine weekends of conference play, the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team enters its final homestand one win away from a repeat title.
UH (20-6, 17-1) opens senior weekend with a match against Cal State Northridge (7-22, 6-13) on Friday with a chance to clinch the outright Big West championship and the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Wahine secured a share of the title with a win at Cal Poly last Saturday and need at least a split of this weekend’s homestand to finish alone atop the conference. UC Santa Barbara kept its title hopes alive with a sweep at CSUN on Tuesday and will visit SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center on Saturday for senior night.
But first things first.
The Wahine went to four sets with CSUN at the Matadome on Oct. 23 to start its current nine-match winning streak. Martyna Leoniak led UH with 15 kills and five aces in the 25-15, 22-25, 25-15, 25-21 win. UH hit .304 in the match while holding CSUN to .169.
Updates for the rematch follow:
SET 4
>> CSUN gets a kill off the tape to win a rally. Westerberg gets a kill off a touch and teams with Williams on a block. UH takes a 4-2 lead on Igiede’s 15th kill of the night.
>> Seyvion Waggoner’s shot down the line is called wide and CSUN challenges. Call is overturned and CSUN closes to 7-5. Lang takes a rare swing on a second touch to give UH an 8-5 lead.
>> CSUN goes on a 4-1 run and ties it at 9-9. UH gets the lead back on a service error and Van Sickle ends a rally with a kill out of the back row then serves up her second ace of the match. She gets another back-row kill to give UH a 14-10 lead.
>> CSUN libero Makayla Bradford’s dig clips the tape and falls on UH’s side for a kill. A service error gives UH a 15-11 lead at the media timeout. Gong serves up an ace and consecutive CSUN errors extend the UH lead to 18-11. Timeout CSUN.
>> Van Sickle and Ikenaga came up with digs and a net violation on Wagoner’s attempt gives UH a 19-11 lead. Ikenaga with another digs and Igiede hammers in the middle, 21-11. Gong serves wide to end her six-point run on the line. Another CSUN double contact call makes it 22-12. Timeout CSUN.
>> Lang puts down two overpasses to give UH match point. Van Sickle ends it with a block and UH wins it 23-25, 25-12, 25-19, 25-12 to clinch the Big West title.

Championship Point. Brooke Van Sickle and Amber Igiede end it with a block and @HawaiiWVB clinches the @BigWestSports title with a 23-25, 25-12, 25-19, 25-12 win over CSUN. UH (21-6, 18-1) will represent the Big West in the NCAA Tournament. @StarAdvertiser pic.twitter.com/XAa7rIH2wp

— Jason Kaneshiro (@jasonkaneshiro) November 27, 2021

---

SET 3
>> UH opens the set with a 5-0 run with Lang on the service line. CSUN’s Lauryn Anderson tried to put away an overpass but Williams turns her away for a solo block and a 3-0 lead. Van Sickle has a 1-on-1 and goes cross court for her sixth kill. Timeout CSUN after a hitting error.
>> UH’s 6-0 run ends when Williams hits wide, but she comes right back with a kill in the middle. Van Sickle turns a trouble set into kill. She gets another off the block then comes up with a block for a 14-6 UH lead.
>> CSUN goes on a 3-0 run with an ace to close to 14-9. Van Sickle finds a seam in the block for her ninth kill. Williams solo block gives UH a 16-9 lead. Timeout CSUN.
>> Note from UH, Igiede has four digs tonight giving her 101. She’s the first UH middle with 100 digs in a season since Lauren Duggins had 190 in 2002. Igiede gets two more kills to raise her total for the night to 14 and UH leads 20-13.
>> CSUN creeping back in it with a 4-1 run. After a service error, Nicole Nevarez gets a kill from the back row and Carisa Barron’s ace, her second of the set, makes it 22-19. Timeout UH.
>> Barron serves long coming out of the timeout. Westerberg goes off the block to give UH set point. Lang ends its with an ace, UH wins it 25-19 and leads the match 2-1.

SET 2
>> UH opens the set with a hitting error then goes on 6-1 run capped by two kills by Igiede. Lang scores on a dump then finds Van Sickle with an open net on the right side and UH takes a 9-4 lead. Igiede and Williams score in the middle and UH goes up 12-6. Timeout CSUN.
>> Van Sickle serves up the first ace of the match to give UH a 16-8 lead. Ikenaga has two digs in a rally that eventually goes to CSUN and she has 12. Riley Wagoner gets a kill off the block and a CSUN attack into the antenna makes it 18-9. Timeout CSUN.
>> Igiede gets a solo block then taps down an overpass and UH in control at 20-9. After a UH net violation and CSUN’s first ace, UH calls timeout leading 20-11.
>> Igiede gets two more kills and has 10 in the match. Two CSUN errors give UH set point at 24-12. Van Sickle hammers cross-court from the left side and UH wins it 25-12. Match tied 1-1.

SET 1
>> Brooke Van Sickle opens the match with a one-handed block of a CSUN tip, but the Matadors are playing tough defense and take a 5-3 lead. Riley Wagoner is UH’s most effective attacker early on with five kills in six swings and she ties it at 10-10. Tiffany Westerberg’s shot down the line is called out. UH challenges and a touch is called, 11-11.
>> A solo block by Taylor Hunter sparks a 4-1 CSUN run and the Matadors lead 15-12 at the media timeout. Igiede is called for a center-line violation and CSUN takes a four-point lead.
>> Down 18-14, Van Sickle gets a roll shot to fall. Williams and Westerberg team up on UH’s first block and CSUN’s third double-contact call makes it 18-17.
>> Hunter’s kill in the middle makes it 20-18 and Wagoner hits into the antenna. Timeout UH trailing 21-18.
>> Igiede gets a touch on her swing in the middle. Ikenaga pops up two digs in a rally that ends with a Wagoner kill off the block. CSUN is called for a back-row blocker and its tied 21-21. Timeout CSUN. Janelle Gong back to serve for UH.
>> Seyvion Waggoner gives CSUN the lead back and Igiede ties it at 22-22 with a solo block. Waggoner goes off the block then gets a touch call on her next swing and CSUN has set point at 24-22. Timeout UH.
>> Gong’s pass sets up Igiede’s kill in the middle. Seyvion Waggoner puts away her sixth kill of the set and CSUN takes it 25-23. Matadors hit .293 to UH’s .209. UH drops the opening set for the first time since its loss at UCSB on Oct. 22.

Starters for @HawaiiWVB vs. CSUN: OH Brooke Van Sickle, MB Amber Igiede, OH Riley Wagoner, MB Skyler Williams, S Kate Lang, OH Tiffany Westerberg, L Tayli Ikenaga. @StarAdvertiser pic.twitter.com/iJ954wnDoi

---

— Jason Kaneshiro (@jasonkaneshiro) November 27, 2021