Hawaii sophomore middle blocker Amber Igiede led a balanced attack with 13 kills and the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team opened the Big West season with a sweep of UC Riverside today at SRC Arena in Riverside, Calif.

UH freshman Kate Lang got the start at setter and ran a Wahine offense that hit .320 to UCR’s .090 in the 25-21, 25-19, 25-16 victory.

Igiede hit a match-high .524 in 21 attempts, outside hitters Brooke Van Sickle and Riley Wagoner posted nine kills each and Braelyn Akana added six. Senior middle blocker Skyler Williams returned to the starting lineup and finished with five kills and was in on seven blocks and UH improved to 4-5 overall.

Freshman Deja Bickers led UC Riverside (4-8, 0-2 Big West) with 12 kills as UH remained perfect in the all-time series with the Highlanders at 28-0.

UH fell behind 7-3 in the first set before surging ahead with a 5-0 run. The Wahine did not trail again in the set and pulled away late with a Wagoner kill giving the Wahine set point and a UCR error ending the set.

The Wahine posted four blocks and controlled the second set, ending it on a Wagoner kill.

UH took command in the third set with an 11-3 surge that included three Van Sickle kills. The Wahine ended the match with their 11th block as Williams and Akana teamed up at the net.

UH played without injured freshman outside hitters Mia Johnson and Annika de Goede, who did not make the trip.

UH continues its road trip on Saturday at UC Davis, which opened the conference schedule with a sweep at UCR on Tuesday.