EUGENE, Ore. – The University of Hawai’i women’s volleyball team saw its season come to an end in the NCAA Tournament second round following a straight set loss to Oregon, Friday at Matthew Knight Arena. Set scores were 25-23, 25-12, 25-17.
UH (24-9) ended its season in the Round of 32 for the second time in the last three seasons while the Ducks (28-5) advanced to the regional semifinals. The careers of six Rainbow Wahine came to an end, headlined by All-American and one of the program’s all-time greats, middle blocker Amber Igiede.
Igiede tallied four kills and three blocks in her final match to finish her career with 1,371 kills and 529 blocks. She is one of just four Rainbow Wahine all-time to reach the 1,000 kill-500 block milestone. Senior Riley Wagoner capped her career with six kills and four digs while fellow seniors Kendra Ham (4 kills, 11 digs), Kennedi Evans (2 kills) and Talia Edmonds all saw action with Chandler Cowell cheering from the sidelines.
The meeting was the second between the teams this season after the Ducks swept Hawai’i in the season-opening Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic tournament in Honolulu. It was the third time the schools met in the NCAA Tournament and second in Eugene, both Oregon victories.
Caylen Alexander led the way for Hawai’i with a team-high 13 kills and 10 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. UH hit for a season-low .061 with 31 kills and 24 errors. The 31 kills tied a season-low also against Oregon in August.
The Ducks were led by Morgan Lewis, who tallied 14 kills in 21 errorless attempts. Oregon hit .266 as a team with eight blocks and five service aces.
UH jumped all over the Ducks in Set 1 with an early 10-4 advantage. An ace by Lang sandwiched by a pair of kills by Wagoner made it 13-5. The lead was seven before the Ducks started their comeback. Oregon closed to within one at 20-19 after an extended 7-1 run. A ball handling error by Kate Lang tied it at 22 and the Ducks scored the final three points to steal the set. The final point came on a questionable overpass kill by Karson Bacon, who appeared to reach over the plane of the net. After trailing 19-12, Oregon out-scored the Rainbow Wahine, 13-4.
Hawai’i fell behind 9-3 in Set 2 before a four-point run brought them to within 9-7. Elise Ferreira went back to serve and a seven-point turn gave Oregon an insurmountable 16-7 lead. The Rainbow Wahine hit -.143 in the set with 10 attack errors in 35 attack attempts and scored a season-low 12 points.
The Ducks scored the first four points of Set 3. UH used a three-point spurt to close within 11-10 but Oregon started to pull away with a 4-1 run to extend their lead to 16-12. Later, an ace by Hannah Pukis sparked a four-point run and a 22-15 advantage. Lewis’ 14th and final kill ended it.
The Rainbow Wahine finish the year as Big West champions for the fourth consecutive season after winning the inaugural Big West Championship last week..
#HawaiiWVB
Leave A Comment