Big West champion Hawaii returns to NCAA volleyball tournament

Kate Lang wasn’t sure she made the right decision in her final set of a tense duel.

But Riley Wagoner rewarded the University of Hawaii setter’s decision by drilling her 18th kill of the night to end a five-set win over UC Santa Barbara on Friday, which gave the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team their third Big West -Consecutive championship secured.

Wagoner’s final kill punctuated UH’s 23-25, 25-20, 26-28, 25-18, 15-11 comeback win at the Thunderdome in Santa Barbara, Calif., earning UH’s 11th Big West title and 40th NCAA attendance -Competition .

“It was a really great game for both sides. Both teams put everything on the ground and that was reflected in the emotions at the end,” said Waggoner in a telephone interview.

“Each (championship) is a really great feeling and just a reward for all the hard work we put into it. … It’s just nice to achieve your goal like this. But we’re definitely not done yet. We want to keep doing well in the tournament – that’s always our goal and I think it’s a stepping stone for us.”

The Rainbow Wahine (21-6, 18-1 Big West) needed to win one of two games on their final road trip of the regular season earlier in the week to clinch the overall title. They did it on their first opportunity while extending their winning streak to 11 and breaking UCSB’s 13 home win streak.

They will finish the regular season today at Cal State Northridge (9-22, 4-15) and learn of their next goal on Sunday when the NCAA tournament bracket is announced. The tournament selection show is scheduled for Sunday at 2:30 p.m. on ESPNU.

“The only thing is they kept fighting like they always do,” UH coach Robyn Ah Mow said after the Wahine earned the 29th straight NCAA spot on the program, not counting 2020, as the Big West canceled the women’s volleyball season due to the pandemic.

“Now we know we’re going to continue our season but we have to use this game (today) to prepare for next week.”

Waggoner triggered the UH defense with 17 digs, and her 18 kills propelled middle blocker Amber Igiede to match-high honors. Igiede hit .417 on her 36 swings and was in five of UH’s seven blocks.

Outside hitter Caylen Alexander overcame a difficult stretch in the third set to finish with 16 kills and added 10 kills over Braelyn Akana.

Lang had a season-high with 55 assists, matched her career-high with 17 digs, and set a career-best with six kills for a UH attack that hit .318.

With UCSB focused on Igiede in the middle, Lang sent her final set to Wagoner on the left pin, but “she still had two blockers because UCSB is so fast and so talented as a blocking team,” Lang said.

“I was like, ‘Oh fuck, did I just make the wrong call?’ (Wagoner) just twisted her wrist and made this cut and it went down and it was amazing. It was so cool.”

UH libero Tayli Ikenaga finished the game with 13 strokes for a defense that withstood a UCSB barrage that also had four attackers with double-digit kills.

UCSB outsider Michelle Ohwobete led the Gauchos (20-10, 16-4) with 17 kills, Tallulah Froley added 16 and Tasia Farmer had 15 in her regular season finale. Punahou grad Mehana Ma’a had 33 assists and 13 digs on senior night at the Thunderdome.

But UH finished a season series win with UCSB a year after the Gauchos won both encounters with the Wahine, a year after the Gauchos won both encounters with the Wahine, including a senior night win in Manoa.

“We’ve talked as a team about how we all know how it feels to be in this gym and not come out with a win,” Lang said, “and we’ve talked about not wanting to feel that way ever again .”

The Gauchos and Wahine traded early runs and 10 straight sideouts before UH took a 19-16 lead in the first set. UCSB went on a 3-0 run and there would be three more ties until Froley scored from the right to give the Gauchos set point and Ohwobete finished the set.

The second set was tied at 14-14 as UH started a 5-0 run capped by an ace from Kendra Ham. UCSB finished 22-20, but UH scored the next three points, with Akana landing a roll shot to level the match.

UH erased an eight-point deficit in the third set to level UCSB 22-22. The Wahine fended off two set points before earning one of their own at 26-25. UCSB survived, then went forward with a Deni Wilson kill down the middle and won the set with an ace from Nia Correal.

UH took a 16-12 lead in the fourth set and took command when Lang’s free ball found a vacancy, followed by an ace that gave UH a 21-14 lead to force a decider.

The teams traded three-pointers early in game five and UH finally took the lead with a 6-1 run sparked by two kills from Tiffany Westerberg and capped by a kill from Akana. UH then ended it on his second match point attempt when Wagoner’s shot landed mid-UCSB defense.

“What really helped us was our resilience and always pushing through no matter how far down we are and gaining momentum even when that momentum is for the next set,” Lang said.