Rainbow Wahine return home to face UC Irvine

The line outside the main gate was still modest at 5:45 p.m. but there was more activity outside SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center for tonight’s Rainbow Wahine volleyball match with UC Irvine. But having fans on the main concourse represents a welcome change compared to the silence of earlier this season.
UH played in front of gatherings of under 500 in its last homestand. Tonight’s match and Sunday’s meeting with UC San Diego will be the first of the season without a cap on attendance and the lines appeared to be moving smoothly more than hour before first serve.
On the court, the Rainbow Wahine look to extend a five-match winning streak and maintain sole possession of first place in the Big West. UH enters the night a game ahead of UC Santa Barbara, which is playing at Cal State Fullerton. (UPDATE: The Gauchos swept the Titans 25-23, 25-23, 25-15 to improve to 17-10 overall and 13-2 in Big West play).
UH earned a four-set win over UC Irvine on Oct. 9 in the Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif. Riley Wagoner led UH with 16 kills that night. Joy Umeh led UCI with 15 kills and seven blocks.
Updates on the rematch follow below.
SET 3
>> UC Irvine goes on a 4-0 run and leads 5-2 after an ace off the tape by Indy DeSmet. Igiede keeps hammering in the middle to start a 3-0 UH run. Van Sickle’s kill out of the back row cuts UCI’s lead to 8-7. A tough serve from Wagoner forces a UCI hitting error that ties it at 9-9.
>> Attendance announced at 1,924 turnstile, 2,912 tickets issued.
>> Williams slaps over a down ball and finds the floor for a kill to tie it at 11-11 then does it again to give UH the lead. UH defense keeps a point alive to cheers from the crowd, but Umeh goes cross court to end the rally. The teams trade sideouts and UH leads 15-14 at the media timeout.
>> Igiede with another kill and a solo block to give UH a 17-15 lead. Timeout UCI.
>> Irvine not going away quietly and ties it 19-19, then 20-20 on Ofoegbu’s 12th kill. UCI comes up with a dig of Igiede’s tip, Lang goes back to her and this time she makes sure it’s not coming back. UH up 22-20. Timeout UCI. Igiede up to 14 kills still no errors.
>> Igiede’s tip off the block falls. She puts down an overpass off of Gong’s serve to give match point. Lang goes to, who else?, Igiede for her career-high 17th kill to close out a 25-18, 25-15, 25-21 win. UH hits .340 to UCI’s .167.

SET 2
>> Van Sickle serves up her third ace and UH’s fifth of the night, UH up 2-1. UCI goes ahead 3-2 and UH answers with a four-point run with kills in the middle by Williams and Igiede and an Igiede/Westerberg block.
>> Gong serves UH’s sixth kill, Van Sickle comes up with two digs in a rally that ends with a Wagoner kill out of system. Van Sickle hangs in the air to send back an attack by 6-foot-4 Ellen Veargason. Williams and Lang combine on UH’s fourth block of the set and sixth of the match to give UH a 14-7 lead. Timeout UCI.
>> Wagoner with a couple of kills out of the back row to make it 17-8. Igiede up to eight kills on 14 swings without an error. Umeh hits wide and UH in control at 22-13. Timeout UCI.
>> Van Sickle with two more digs to give her 12 for the match and Igiede ends the rally to give UH a 23-13 lead. Teams trade service errors and UH has set point. Ofoegbu fights off the first. Van Sickle rotates to the front row and finds a seam to end the set 25-14. Igiede up to nine kills on 17 swings with no errors. Van Sickle with six kills, 12 digs, four blocks.

SET 1
>> Radford graduate Bailey Darnell starting at libero for UC Irvine. UH goes up 3-1 after an ace by Van Sickle. UCI comes back and ties it at 6-6 on an ace by Onye Ofoegbu. UCI ties again at 9-9 on another ace and takes the lead when Wagoner hits long out of the back row.
>> Van Sickle gets a serve to fall off the tape for her second ace and a 12-11 UH lead. Ikenaga gave up an ace earlier, but gets one back to give UH a 15-13 lead at the media timeout.
>> UH’s 3-0 run gives the Wahine a 16-13 lead. UCI answers with a 5-1 surge and leads 18-17 after a block by Ofure Iselen. Wagoner comes back with her fifth kill to tie it up. Van Sickle gets her second to push UH ahead and teams with Igiede on a block after Wagoner’s serve forced UCI out of system. Timeout UCI with UH up 20-18.
>> Janelle Gong with a dig to extend a rally that ends with an Igiede kill in the middle. Two UCI hitting errors make it a 6-0 UH run and a 23-18 lead. Timeout UCI.
>> Wagoner’s serve forces a lift for UH’s fourth ace of the set. Igiede and Van Sickle team up on a block to give UH the set 25-18. Wahine close on an 8-0 run. Wagoner leads UH with five kills. UH hits .216 to UCI’s .071.

Starters for @HawaiiWVB vs. UC Irvine: OH Brooke Van Sickle, MB Amber Igiede, OH Riley Wagoner, MB Skyler Williams, S Kate Lang, OPP Tiffany Westerberg, L Tayli Ikenaga. @StarAdvertiser pic.twitter.com/q7s0IBoXcJ

— Jason Kaneshiro (@jasonkaneshiro) November 13, 2021

The Rainbow Wahine take the court to cheers from the early arrivals in the arena. @HawaiiWVB @StarAdvertiser pic.twitter.com/NZXXTj04FO

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— Jason Kaneshiro (@jasonkaneshiro) November 13, 2021

Fans make their way into SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center for tonight’s @HawaiiWVB match vs. UC Irvine. First match of the season without a cap on attendance. @StarAdvertiser pic.twitter.com/A2IRf4tZLD

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— Jason Kaneshiro (@jasonkaneshiro) November 13, 2021