From Olivia Magill’s robust hitting to Tai Manu-Olevao’s service proficiency, coach Dave Shoji thought this was the University of Hawaii’s best effort yet.
Magill pounded 13 kills on .632 hitting and Manu-Olevao produced six aces as the Rainbow Wahine swept Utah State 25-16, 25-20, 25-22 on Thursday night at the Outrigger Resorts Volleyball Challenge in Honolulu.
“I thought we played very efficiently in Games 1 and 2,” Shoji said on the OC16 broadcast. “In Game 3, I knew we’d had a little letdown, but we were able to get ourselves out of it. We’ll take the win.”
Efficient would describe Magill, a junior middle blocker who needed only 19 swings to lead the hitting attack for Hawaii (5-2). Manu-Olevao posted 11 kills and Kalei Greeley added nine to go along with a match-high 11 digs.
Magill, the reigning Big West Player of Week, entered the match with a .393 attack percentage.
The Aggies (3-4) hit just .054. Three attack errors hurt Utah State in the third set as it saw a 19-17 lead slip away. Two final kills by Magill finished the match. Magill and Kalei Adolpho led the way with five blocks.
UH welcomes No. 25 UCLA (4-2) — which swept San Francisco on Thursday — in match at 7:30 p.m. Friday (OC16).
Shoji said Manu-Olevao has begun to master a jump-serve. The Rainbow Wahine finished with nine aces.
“She looked good tonight,” Shoji said. “She got some early, which really helped. She looks confident back there now as opposed to a couple of weeks ago.”