What could be better than senior night in the Stan Sheriff Center ?
One that includes: the first women’s volleyball sellout since 2013; the first Big West title since 2016; and, as an icing-on-the-cake bonus, an emphatic sweep of Long Beach State.
No. 18 Hawaii got the party started from opening serve, celebrating for 90 minutes of the 25-18, 25-12, 25-20 match and then the hour-plus festivities that left the Class of 2020 buried in lei, cheers and tears.
The final regular-season home match for the Rainbow Wahine was all Bailey Choy, Norene Iosia, Rika Okino, McKenna Ross and Kirsten Sibley could hope and more. It exceeded expectations and met the dreams they had beginning with the first practice on Aug. 10.
A turnstile crowd of 9, 067 saw Hawaii (24-3, 14-2 ) tie its season high with 12 aces, including a career-best seven by Iosia. The setter-hitter epitomized what third-year coach Robyn Ah Mow seeks in a player, those all-around skills that had Iosia finishing five kills on 12 errorless swings, 20 assists and as many digs (5 ) as blocks, including a solo stuff.
Iosia passed associate coach Angelica Ljungqvist and Lisa Strand for No. 3 in program history with 135 aces. No. 2 is Martina Cincerova (139 ) and No. 1 is Kim Willoughby (194 ).
“This was awesome,” Ah Mow said, who won her first conference title as a coach. “They played great.
“Great blocking, great season, great game.”
Hawaii knew it was going “dancing ” in the NCAA tournament after clinching the automatic berth with Thursday’s sweep of Cal State Northridge. That was echoed after Friday’s victory, with Iosia gracefully performing a traditional Samoan dance after receiving a standing ovation when she was the last of the five players honored.
Friday’s victory also perhaps solidified the Wahine’s chance to host the first and second rounds for the first time since 2013. Hawaii is at 12 in the Ratings Percentage Index, the computer-generated strength of schedule formula used by the NCAA to seed and award 16 subregionals.
Hawaii has put in a bid to host but will have to wait, along with 63 other teams, for Selection Sunday on Dec. 1. That is fine with the Wahine, who continued to savor the night some 90 minutes after freshman middle Amber Igiede put down the match-ending kill.
Hawaii extended its winning streak to 11 with its sixth consecutive victory over the Beach (12-16, 9-7 ). The Wahine have not lost on senior night since being swept by Utah State in 2007.
“This was so worth it, coming home,” said Choy, playing as a graduate student after three seasons at Utah.
“This was unforgettable and I would not trade it for the world.
“Hawaii volleyball is one big ohana.”
It was the 15th sellout for women’s volleyball, the 49th in the 25-year history of the arena. Coincidentally, the last was in April, when the Rainbow Warriors won the Big West tournament, defeating Long Beach State for the automatic NCAA bid.
“It was so awesome to get a win like this for our seniors,” said junior defensive specialist Kyra Hanawahine, who served the final ace to push the Set 3 lead to 19-13. “It was definitely a great win.”
One of the hardest plays of the night came late in Set 3 when Ah Mow finally figured out a way to get all five of the seniors on the court at the same time. One other was the post-match battle to hold the Big West trophy and take a lap around the arena.
It was a team effort on Friday, with Ross and junior hitter Brooke Van Sickle each finishing with nine kills and Van Sickle two aces and eight of the Wahine’s 36 digs.
Freshman hitter Kashauna Williams finished with a match-high 10 kills for the Beach. Sophomore setter Carly Aigner-Swesey and senior libero Hailey Harward each had 10 digs.
Hawaii hit.333, with nine blocks helping hold the Beach to.130 hitting.
Hawaii’s efficiency from Thursday night (season-high.398 ) carried over Friday in Set 1. UH hit.389 and took the lead for good at 4-3. Junior hitter Brooke Van Sickle was nearly untouchable (six kills with one error) and Iosia was phenomenal with nine assists, an ace and as many kills as blocks (two ), including one solo.
Iosia was even better in Set 2, with a 6-0 serving run that had four aces and had the Beach reeling at 7-1. Her second stint on the backline had another ace and had the Wahine rolling 22-11.
Set 3 was tied once at 3-3. Thirty minutes later, Hawaii was doing what it does best: senior night.