HONOLULU — A matchup with one of the early leaders in the Big West race leads off the University of Hawai’i women’s volleyball team’s longest road trip of the conference schedule. The Rainbow Wahine open the three-game road trip by taking on Cal Poly, one of three teams tied atop the standings, on Friday, Oct. 18 at the Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo, Calif. They’ll then face UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Oct. 19 at The Thunderdome in Santa Barbara, Calif. Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m. Pacific Time (4 p.m. Hawai’i Time). The trip winds up at Cal State Bakersfield on Tuesday, Oct. 22.
The Rainbow Wahine (10-6, 4-2 Big West) enter the week tied with UC Irvine and a game behind the lead trio of Cal Poly, Long Beach State and UC Davis.
MATCH 17: at CAL POLY | ||||
Date | Time |
Friday, Oct. 18 | 7:00 P.M. PT / 4:00 P.M. HT Advertisement
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Location | Mott Athletics Center; San Luis Obispo, Calif. | |||
Television | None | |||
Live Stream | ESPN+ | |||
Radio | ESPN Honolulu (1420 AM / 92.7 FM) — Tiff Wells (PxP) | |||
Audio Stream | espnhonolulu.com | |||
Live Stats | gopoly.com | |||
Game Notes | Hawai’i |
HAWAI’I RAINBOW WAHINE (10-6, 4-2 BIG WEST)Head Coach: Robyn Ah Mow (Seventh Season)
Record at UH: 142-51
Big West Record: 97-15
CAL POLY MUSTANGS (12-5, 5-1 BIG WEST)Head Coach: Caroline Walters (Sixth Season)
Series record: UH leads 46-10
Streak: UH won 1
Last meeting: UH 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 26-24), Nov. 24, 2023; Long Beach, Calif.
UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS (7-11, 3-3 BIG WEST)Head Coach: Matt Jones (Second Year)
Series record: UH leads 45-13
Streak: UCSB won 2
Last meeting: UCSB 3-0 (25-17, 29-27, 28-26); Nov. 4, 2023; Honolulu
‘BOWS NOTES
- The Rainbow Wahine split last week’s homestand with a four-set loss to UC Davis and a sweep of UC Riverside.
- Caylen Alexander led the UH attack in both matches last week and remains among the nation’s kills leaders. She leads the Big West and ranks third in NCAA Division I with 324 total kills and 4.98 kills per set. She’s fifth nationally with 385.5 points and sixth with 5.52 points per set.
- Alexander has already surpassed her kill total of last season (319) and raised her career total to 938.
- Setter Kate Lang made her 100th consecutive start against UC Riverside and ranks third in the Big West with 9.72 assists per set. She enters the week fifth in program history with 3,901 career assists.
- Senior libero Tayli Ikenaga ranks second in the Big West with 263 total digs this season to raise her career total to 1,129. She is nine digs away from entering the program’s career top 10.
- Middle blocker Jacyn Bamis has turned up her offensive production and efficiency over the last two weekends. The junior posted 33 kills in 59 attacks with five errors to hit .475 in UH’s last four matches. She also has four service aces in than span.
- Bamis tied her career high with 11 kills on 17 error-free attempts against UC Davis on Oct. 11.
THE MATCHUPS
CAL POLY
- Cal Poly head coach Caroline Walters is in her sixth season and has a career record of 95-70.
- UH and Cal Poly split last year’s regular-season series with both teams winning on the road. UH won in four sets in San Luis Obispo and Cal Poly claimed a five-set win in Mānoa.
- The teams met again in the semifinals of the inaugural Big West Championship and the ‘Bows swept the Mustangs to advance to the title match on their way to the conference title.
- Cal Poly was voted first in the Big West Preseason Coaches’ Poll followed by Hawai’i.
- The Mustangs entered the week at 5-1 in Big West play with all five wins coming in sweeps, including road wins at UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton last weekend.
- Cal Poly ranks first in the Big West in hitting percentage (.245) and kills per set (13.10).
- Setter Emme Bullis leads the conference with 10.54 assists per set. Bullis and UH’s Kate Lang have each earned two Big West Setter of the Week awards this season.
- Tommi Stockham leads the Mustangs and ranks fourth in the Big West with 3.54 kills per set.
- Freshman middle blocker Chloe Leluge is second in the conference with a .361 hitting percentage.
UC SANTA BARBARA
- UCSB head coach Matt Jones is in his second season and has a career record of 34-16.
- UCSB swept last year’s series with UH, pulling out a five-set win in Santa Barbara and sweeping the rematch in Honolulu.
- Jones led the Gauchos to the 2023 Big West regular-season title with a 17-1 conference record and was named Big West Coach of the Year.
- UCSB lost to Long Beach State in the Big West Championship semifinals but earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Gauchos fell to Houston in the first round to close the season at 27-5.
- UCSB’s non-conference schedule included five nationally ranked opponents, including then- No. 1 Pittsburgh and No. 2 Stanford, and went 4-8.
- UCSB has split each of the first three weeks of the Big West season. The Gauchos earned a four-set win at Cal State Fullerton and lost at UC Irvine, also in four sets, last weekend.
- Eva Travis leads UCSB with 2.97 kills per set.
#HawaiiWVB
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)