A day after a title-clinching victory and on the eve of the NCAA Tournament selection show, Hawaii shook off a mid-match lull to close the regular season with a four-set win over Cal State Northridge on Saturday.
UH middle blocker Amber Igiede put away 19 kills on .607 hitting and her fourth ace of the match finished off a 25-18, 25-20, 18-25, 25-9 win over the host Matadors at Premier America Credit Union Arena in Northridge, Calif.
The Rainbow Wahine clinched the Big West title and the conference’s automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament with a five-set comeback against UC Santa Barbara on Friday and used the entire active roster to take the first two sets in Saturday’s regular-season finale.
After CSUN pulled away in the third set to extend the match, Igiede put away five of UH’s first six kills to spark the rout in the fourth. She added an ace to give UH an 11-3 lead and the Wahine held a team to single-digit scoring in a 25-point set for the first time this season.
“We wanted to re-establish control and take the reins,” Igiede said in a phone interview.
UH (22-6 19-1 Big West) closed the regular season with a 12-match winning streak and will learn its NCAA Tournament destination when the bracket is revealed at 2:30 p.m. today on ESPNU.
“You can soak it up right now, they deserve it,” UH coach Robyn Ah Mow said of running the table over the final six weeks of the conference season. “They worked hard, practicing, the travel, and the day-in and day-out. They deserve to soak this up for a little bit, but on Sunday everything is zeroed out.”
The Rainbow Wahine are scheduled to return to campus today and will be included in the NCAA Tournament bracket for the 29th straight season (not counting 2020, when the Big West season was canceled due to the pandemic) and the 40th time overall.
“(The team’s focus) has already turned,” Igiede said. “We’ll enjoy it a little bit tonight, but once we get on the plane it’s back to 0-0.”
Igiede had just two errors in her 28 swings and was in on six blocks as UH completed the sweep of the season series with CSUN. She hit over .600 for the third time this season and is on pace to set the school’s single-season record for hitting percentage at .439. Angelica Ljunqvist has held the current record of .417 since 1996.
Outside hitter Caylen Alexander added 12 kills on .333 hitting and posted a season-high six blocks, including two solo. Riley Wagoner finished with nine kills and had three of UH’s 10 aces.
UH setter Kate Lang had 34 assists while sharing time with senior Mylana Byrd, who had six, and the Rainbow Wahine hit .313 in the match.
CSUN setter/outside hitter Carisa Barron led the Matadors (9-23, 4-16) with 14 kills and 22 assists. CSUN hit .179 overall and peaked at .419 in the third when Barron delivered five kills and an ace to lead the Matadors to their first set win against UH this season.
‘They were serving tough and took us out of system,” Ah Mow said. “We weren’t passing very well and we just started serving lollipops, getting tentative, and quiet.”
UH reclaimed control to start the fourth with Igiede hammering two kills and landing two tips in a 6-1 opening run. The Wahine went on to hit .522 in the final set with 13 kills and one error in 23 attacks and converted on all nine sideout opportunities.
“I was happy with the win, just not happy with that (third) set,” Ah Mow said. “But glad we got to get some of the girls on the court and coming back and waking up in the fourth set.”
UH never trailed in the first two sets, taking control of the opener after CSUN rallied to tie the first set at 8-8 on an ace by Breanna Mitchell. UH went on a 6-2 run, with Braelyn Akana posting two kills and a block assist and Wagoner adding two kills.
UH served up five aces to open up an 11-5 lead in the second set and Ah Mow subbed in several of the reserves. CSUN rallied to tie the set at 19-19, but UH went on a 6-1 run to close the set, with Annika de Goede providing two kills and a block assist off the bench.
