No. 24 Hawaii Too Much For Anteaters
October 04, 2014 | Women's Volleyball
HONOLULU, Hawaii --- UC Irvine entered the week as the top team in the Big West in hitting percentage but Hawaii, the best blocking team in the league, lived up to its billing as the Rainbow Wahine posted a 12.5-4 advantage at the net in a 25-17, 25-19, 26-24 sweep of the Anteaters Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center.
UCI was held to a .157 hitting percentage while the Rainbow Wahine posted an efficient .308 clip. Allison Lee converted on 13 of 34 attempts and hit .265 to lead UCI while Molly Yoder recorded a match-leading 13 digs. Marisa Bubica led the team with a .286 offensive percentage and put away 12 of 28 attempts.
The Rainbow Wahine opened the match with a 7-3 lead on an ace from Nikki Taylor and stretched the margin to five (9-4) on a kill by Tai Manu-Olevao. Hawaii hit .387 in the set and UCI was unable to make a dent in the lead, falling behind by six at 20-14 on a shot down the line by Taylor. Sarah Mendoza aced Yoder to give Hawaii set point and after a kill by Pickrell, Tayler Higgins went to Kalei Greeley for the kill.
UCI jumped ahead in the second, getting an ace from Chloe Hakim and a kill by Pickrell but Hawaii reeled off three straight points to take an 8-6 lead as Taylor's kill ended an extended rally. The Anteaters cut the deficit to one (11-10) on a kill by Bubica but could not contain the Rainbow Wahine, who used another three-point rally to open the lead back to four (14-10). UCI used a timeout to regroup but Higgins and Kalei Adolpho stopped an attempt by Bubica and Taylor then aced Pickrell to stretch the gap to six (16-10). Consecutive kills from Bubica and Lee prompted a UH timeout and Lee then tooled the ball off the block to continue the rally as UCI trimmed the lead down to two at 16-14. An unforced error by Taylor brought UCI to within one at 18-17 and it was Lee again, who used the UH block to her advantage to knot the score at 18 points apiece. The Rainbow Wahine block answered by delivering on consecutive plays to prompt a UCI timeout at 20-18. Olivia Magill knocked down an over-pass by the Anteaters and UH went on a 7-1 run to take a two-set lead.
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