The only time Tai Manu-Olevao seemingly slowed down all night was when she was summoned to the bench in anticipation of a fourth set.
But thanks to the handiwork of a few reserves, Manu-Olevao’s stint on the bench didn’t last as long as expected, and Hawaii’s sweep streak remained intact.
Manu-Olevao finished with 15 kills Saturday night and Nikki Taylor added 11 as the No. 24 Rainbow Wahine stormed back in Game 3 to secure their seventh consecutive sweep, 25-17, 25-19, 26-24, over UC Irvine in Honolulu.
“Trying to rest the first team a little bit, thinking you’re going to lose the third game,” coach Dave Shoji said on the OC16 broadcast. “But we got a couple of good performances out of the bench; we just hung in there.”
The Rainbow Wahine (12-3, 4-0 Big West) finished the match on a 13-4 run, winning the last five points.
“I wouldn’t say it was just fun, but a little stressful for everyone, too,” said Olivia Magill, who came up with seven of UH’s 12.5 blocks. “I’m glad we were able to pull it out.”
Manu-Olevao, who moved from Hilo to Oahu when she was in intermediate school and attended Punahou, made just three errors on 28 swings and hit .429. That marks her career-best percentage for a match in which she had at least 20 attacks.
“She’s on fire; she’s really confident,” Shoji said. “Tayler Higgins is finding her in the right spots. She’s really carrying us right now.”
The victory was UH’s 200th all-time in the Big West.
Taylor posted her first double-double with 10 digs and six blocks, Magill contributed eight kills and Higgins posted 32 assists.
Allison Lee put away 13 kills with nine digs for the Anteaters (10-7, 0-3).
The Wahine, who hit the road next week for matches against Cal State Northridge and Long Beach State, hit .308 and allowed Irvine to hit just .157.
“I thought we played one of our better matches overall,” Shoji said. “The first and second sets we were really good.
“That’s what we need to do; get better every night.”