The University of Hawaii eventually adjusted to Oregon’s speed, but only to a point.
Overmatched through two games, the Rainbow Wahine fought back to force a fifth set before falling 25-18, 25-14, 19-25, 18-25, 15-8 on Friday night in Honolulu.
“I was really proud of the girls for coming back in Game 3, but we just weren’t quick enough,” coach Dave Shoji said in an interview with OC16. “The pace of the game was too fast for us. They beat us in every phase. We couldn’t block them and we couldn’t get by their block.”
Liz Brenner smacked 18 kills for the No. 22 Ducks (6-0), who hit .266 and took control of a close fifth set with a 5-0 run to pull away.
Olivia Magill (18 kills) and Tai Manu-Olevao (14) played large roles to help No. 20 Hawaii recover from its slow start.
“We made the adjustments” Shoji said. “The girls speeded up everything. We had to do that. We got back in the ballgame. We didn’t follow some of the game plan early and we just got behind and it was too hard to catch up.”
The Wahine hit .178 and came up with as many errors (five) as kills in the fifth set.
UH finishes the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Volleyball Classic with a noon match Saturday against St. John’s.
Shoji was once again happy with the efforts he got from a pair of freshmen, Kalei Greeley (13 kills) and Megan Huff, who provides a formidable block at 6-foot-3.
“I think we’ll start (Huff) and Greeley,” Shoji said. “We have to go with the people who are giving the most consistent effort.”
Soccer
The UH smashed its home attendance record. The crowd of 4,366 watched the Rainbow Wahine get crushed.
Defended national champion UCLA looked every bit the No. 1 team in the nation, putting on a first-half clinic and overwhelming the Rainbow Wahine 6-0 at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex.
Darian Jenkins, Sam Mewis, Rosie White, Sarah Killion and Taylor Smith staked the Bruins (4-0-1) to a 5-0 lead at halftime. Killion tacked on two assists for the Bruins, who took advantage of an own goal in the second half.
UH (2-3) did muster five shots against a UCLA squad that had only allowed six coming in.
The attendance mark easily surpassed the crowd of 3,175 that witnessed the 2005 finale.