UC Irvine rallies over Hawaii in Big West women’s volleyball
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hawaii’s Miliana Sylvester makes a kill as Irvine’s Hunter Riedl (6) and Soana Leaea (18) defend during the first set of Friday’s match.
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hawaii’s Tayli Ikenaga makes a dig during the first set of Friday’s match against the UC Irvine Anteaters.
On the verge of its first sweep, the Hawaii women’s volleyball team instead dropped it’s opening Big West Conference match of the season with its star player on the sideline at the end.
UC Irvine completed a 21-25, 22-25, 26-24, 25-18, 15-13 reverse sweep of the Rainbow Wahine tonight after Hawaii was ahead 23-19 in the third set looking to send a SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 4,671 home early for the first time this season.
Instead, Hawaii played its seventh five-set match of the season after UCI closed the third set on a 7-1 run trailing 23-18.
The fifth set was tied nine times before the Anteaters scored the final two points to hand Hawaii (6-5, 0-1) a fourth consecutive loss in the same season for the first time since 1985.
Hawaii junior Caylen Alexander had a team-high 19 kills but was subbed out of the match early in the fourth set and did not return.
Freshman middle blocker Miliana Sylvester added a career-high 16 kills for UH, which hit negative in the fourth set and .083 in the fifth.
Seven of Hawaii’s 11 matches this season have gone five sets.
Hawaii returns to the court on Saturday hosting Cal State Fullerton (4-7, 0-1) at 7 p.m.
