STANFORD, Calif. >> Tonya Johnson highlighted two numbers in the scouting report in preparing LSU for its first NCAA Tournament match since 2017.
“We put a lot of of our focus this week on stopping 3 and 6, Amber and Wagoner, and just making sure that we got something in front of them,” Johnson, LSU’s first-year head coach, said after the Tigers’ four-set win over Hawaii in Maples Pavilion.
Rainbow Wahine middle blocker Amber Igiede and outside hitter Riley Wagoner justified the emphasis placed on them in LSU’s preparations in again leading the UH attack in the final match of their junior seasons.
Wagoner, a first-team All-Big West selection, finished the night with a match-high 20 kills in 55 swings, and her 17 digs gave her the 13th double-double of her career. She became the first UH player to reach 20 kills in an NCAA Tournament match since Nikki Taylor had 23 in a five-set win over USC in the first round in 2016.
Igiede, the Big West Player of the Year, added 16 kills on 35 attempts for a .314 hitting percentage and finished the season at a UH single-season record .433.
Both reached milestones in the match, with Wagoner surpassing 700 kills in her career and Igiede posting her 400th block while finishing the match with four.
While LSU didn’t exactly shut down the UH duo, the Tigers managed to extend rallies and pounced on 32 Rainbow Wahine errors, 14 coming on blocks, while holding UH to a .158 hitting percentage.
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“I told them we’re not going to always get the big stuff block, but if we can slow the ball down, we can play behind that and run our offense,” Johnson said. “I thought we got some unbelievable touches tonight on the block and we did a really good job of transitioning and scoring in that way.
“That’s something we’ve been working on all season long and I thought it really clicked tonight.”
UH ended the night with more total digs with 71 to LSU’s 66. But the Tigers’ defense, which ranked second in the SEC with 15.54 digs per set, held an opponent under .200 hitting for the 16th time this season.
“We came in really prepared with the game plan and really trusting and listening to our coaches,” said LSU outside hitter Sanaa Dotson, who finished with 16 kills and 18 digs. “We were just really good about scouting them and knowing what was open in their defense. I just trust our back row that if i didn’t get a great block they were able to play defense.”
Igiede ended the season averaging a team-high 3.79 kills per set, followed by Wagoner’s 3.33, and they are among eight seniors slated to return in 2023.
Friday’s match marked the farewell for UH’s lone senior, setter Mylana Byrd, who was in on two blocks in her final collegiate match.
“It’s been a long season for sure, but I think we’ve worked really hard every day in practice,” Wagoner said. “We could have pushed ourselves more at some points and we’ll just take that into next season.”
ESPN+ a minus for fans in Hawaii
Much of the state wasn’t able to watch UH’s fast start to Friday’s match with the ESPN+ feed blacked out in Hawaii. The first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament are available only on the streaming service.
UH athletic director David Matlin attended the match and got word of the chaos back home while sitting courtside.
Matlin said after the match he didn’t know the exact reason for the blackout but said, “it probably was a human error. I know it wasn’t anything intentional. They just had to correct it and they did get it corrected after the second set, so it was unfortunate.
“Once I heard about it, I reached out to my contacts at ESPN. The commissioner of the Big West (Dan Butterly) was helping and the NCAA also.”
Rainbow Wahine home matches are typically blacked out on ESPN+ in Hawaii with Spectrum Sports carrying the in-state broadcast. UH’s Big West road matches have been available on ESPN+ throughout the season, aside from a trip when the host teams weren’t able to provide a production.
