Women’s Volleyball Sweeps UC Riverside in Bounce-Back Win – University of Hawai’i at Manoa Athletics

HONOLULU — The University of Hawai’i women’s volleyball team made it a quick Sunday at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center with a sweep of UC Riverside.
 
The Rainbow Wahine (10-6, 4-2 Big West) hit a collective .369 and rolled to a 25-15, 25-18, 25-16 win over the Highlanders (5-14, 0-6) in 90 minutes to earn a split of their homestand.
 
Caylen Alexander set the tone with kills on the first three points of the match on her way to a match-high 19 while hitting .378 and UH never trailed in the match with the only two ties coming at 1-1 in the second and third sets. Alexander also served up two of UH’s season-high eight aces in the ‘Bows’ bounce-back performance two days after a loss to UC Davis.
 
Middle blockers Miliana Sylvester and Jacyn Bamis combined for an efficient performance in the middle with 17 kills on 30 attempts and three errors between them to hit .467. Bamis had nine kills in 18 swings and served up three consecutive aces late in the match to set a new career high. Sylvester finished with eight kills on 12 swings with one error to hit .583 for the match.
 
Setter Kate Lang directed the UH attack to its second highest hitting percentage of the season while making her 100^th consecutive start, a run that started against UC Riverside in 2021. Lang finished with 32 assists, six digs and a kill.
 

Gettin’ it done. 🔥#GoBows #SISTAHHOOD pic.twitter.com/v9nXcbQVRO

— Hawaii W. Volleyball (@HawaiiWVB) October 14, 2024

 
Tayli Ikenaga posted double-digit digs for the 60^th time in her career and finished 17 to lead the ‘Bows, who popped up a total of 54 digs in the three-set victory.
 
Along with Alexander’s opening surge, UH’s defense fueled an early run with 14 digs and two blocks contributing to a 10-5 lead in the opening set. Back to back UCR aces cut UH’s lead to 12-9, but the ‘Bows broke away with a 5-0 run highlighted by a kill and an ace from Tali Hakas. UH hit .326 with Stella Adeyemi punctuating the set with a shot down the line.
 
UH jumped ahead early again in the second set and a 6-1 run later stretched the margin to 15-6. Alexander went 6-for-9 in the set and UH maintained control while hitting .400 with a 73% sideout percentage (14 for 19).
 
UH opened up a 9-3 lead in the third set when Bamis and Hakas teamed on a block. UCR went on a 4-0 run to close to 17-14, but the ‘Bows surged away again when Bamis landed three consecutive aces. Jackie Matias added UH’s eighth ace of the night and Adeyemi’s sixth kill closed out the win as UH improved to 33-0 in the all-time series with UCR.
 
Trinity Sheridan led UC Riverside with 10 kills and the Highlanders hit .165 as a team.
 
The Rainbow Wahine will next face Cal Poly (12-5, 5-1), one of three teams tied atop the Big West standings, on Oct. 18 in San Luis Obispo, Calif., to open a three-match road trip. They’ll also make stops at UC Santa Barbara (Oct. 19) and Cal State Bakersfield (Oct. 22).
 

#HawaiiWVB