ESPN Honolulu Rainbow Wahine play-by-play voice Tiff Wells with his six biggest takeaways from the most recent week.
1 – Another Lineup Change. Just when Hawai`i began to find some continuity with another new lineup and system, the injury bug hit UH…again. Entering week four of conference play, Audrey Hollis sustained a right wrist injury and was a game-time decision for the Long Beach State match. The sophomore setter had been part of the 6-2 offense with Adrianna Arquette and despite bringing a three-match losing streak with them to Long Beach, UH seemed to have found their offensive system. Arquette has proven to be an offensive threat as an attacker when in the front row. All of that went out the door when it was determined Hollis wasn’t available for Friday night. Morghn Monahan got her first career start (at Opposite) as a Rainbow Wahine as the Samoan Air Force (Cha’Lei Reid and Tyla Reese Mane) were the two Outside Hitters. With Arquette as the only active setter on the roster, UH went back to a 5-1 offense against The Beach. 24 hours later against UC San Diego, the Bows again ran the 5-1 as Hollis was not available for a second consecutive match. For now, Arquette is the only active setter on the roster. How long Hollis is out remains to be seen as UH again continues to navigate this season with another injury to a key player in the rotation.
2 – All Business In La Jolla. A night after falling in straight sets at Long Beach, the Bows had a lengthy locker room discussion before making the drive to La Jolla and getting in late Friday night. A good serve and pass on the morning of the UCSD match, sometimes the best remedy for a team is to play the next night. A 6-0 scoring run behind Bri Gunderson was the cushion for UH as the Bows hit .571in Set 1. Gunderson and Cha’Lei Reid each scored six kills in the frame. A 7-0 Adrianna Arquette scoring run blew open Set 2 where UH eventually led 18-11. While the Tritons cut the deficit to three (21-18), Hawai`i closed on a 4-1 run to hold a commanding 2-0 match lead. A six-point lead in Set 3 was cut to one but UH was able to go on a mini-run before closing out the set and match. A season-low nine hitting errors and a season-best .385 hitting percentage, Hawai`i controlled the match and were never really threatened en route to their second road win of the season. Road wins are hard, earning 3-0 road wins are even harder. Nothing is easy, especially when you’re not at 100% health. In front of a program record crowd of 3,339 for UC San Diego, UH swept the Tritons to remain perfect in the series (10-0).
3 – 24 Hour Difference For Reid. Playing her first match in The Walter Pyramid, freshman Cha’Lei led the team in kills with 10. Long Beach State also held UH’s top pin hitter to .088. A change in venue and also a change in attacking style led to the most efficient match of Reid’s young career. Six kills in the first set on 10 errorless swings, Reid was clicking from both the left side and back-row. High-flat shots off the blocks, rolls, tips, going off the edge of the block, finding a seam…all the shots were there and no two shots were really the same. When the opportunity was there, the hard driven attack was taken. Not every swing needs to be at 100% and the shots were all smart from the Kahuku High alumna. The UCSD defense had no answer for Reid as she led all attackers with 18 kills en route to a career-best .424.
4 – Hey Diddle Diddle, Run The Middles. Even in a loss, a positive or two can be found. When the passing was there against Long Beach State, UH had the ability to run the middle and did so successfully. Bri Gunderson and Miliana Sylvester combined for 15 kills on 36 swings with just three hitting errors to hit .338. Quick attacks and slides to the right-side pin led to the middles finding success. On a night where the pins struggled against the Beach (Reid: 10-7-34,.088; Mane: 6-6-18,000; Dash: 1-1-12,.000; Monahan: 0-1-3,-.333), the middles carried the load. One night later at UC San Diego, the efficiency was there again. Six kills on six errorless swings in Set 1 led to a 9-1-11, .727 performance for Gunderson. Sylvester hit .375, scoring seven kills on 16 swings with just one hitting error. UH was in system for a majority of the match against the Tritons and the reasoning for that was from the passing unit (Victoria Leyva, Jaci Miyasaki, Cha’Lei Reid and Tyla Reese Mane). Continued success from the middles will allow the opportunities to open up for the pin hitters.
5 – Key Rotation Violation. Amidst their second four-match losing streak of the season, Hawai`i took advantage of a struggling UC San Diego team to get back into the win column. Even with a 4-15 record prior to the UH match, the Tritons arguably had the most impressive conference win of the season, a 3-0 win over Cal Poly (a team that had beaten UH 3-0). Hitting .439 (28-4-52) through the first two sets, UH also was siding out at 72% (28-39) off first-ball contact. Up 2-0 (25-19, 25-19), UH was in control of the match. With the Rainbow Wahine leading 16-10, a 5-0 UCSD run got them back into the set. And then, the momentum changed. With serve, the Tritons were called for an out-of-rotation with their two players in the back-row (something that has been called numerous times in a UH match this season). What could have been a 16-all set became a 17-15 Hawai`i lead. An extended 4-2 run gave UH a 21-17 lead. The Bows served for the match at 24-19 and while it took three match points to covert, Hawai`i ultimately earned a 3-0 win and in the process, maybe played one of their two best matches of the season. One call doesn’t necessarily change the outcome of a set, but the key Tritons error as they were on a run hurt their momentum and UH took full advantage to quiet the UCSD program record crowd of 3,339.
6 – Last Trip to LB? The 36th meeting in Long Beach and 66th overall in the series went to Long Beach State in straight sets on Friday night. Of late, UH has owned this series, winning now 15 of the last 17. Hawai`i was out-hit (.233 to .140), out-blocked (8 to 6) and out-dug (54 to 41) during the 95-minute loss on Friday. A rivalry that began in 1977, UH unfortunately saw seasons and postseason runs ended by Long Beach State in 1989 (Regional Final, lost 3-2), 1990 (Regional Semifinal, lost 3-1), 1991 (Regional Final, lost 3-2), 1993 (Regional Final, lost 3-0) and 1994 (Regional Final, lost 3-2). LBSU comes to the island for UH’s senior night (and the final regular season match of the season) on November 22nd. With the Bows heading to the Mountain West Conference next season, this is the last year they are guaranteed to have LBSU on the schedule. While fellow conference members Cal Poly, UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Bakersfield have all expressed interest to keep their series with UH going, we’ve yet to hear if The Beach hold the same sentiment. Long Beach State hosts The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2025 Outrigger Big West Championship. Does UH make it a second trip to Long Beach this season? Might there be a third meeting between the Bows and Beach in 2025? Does UH keep Long Beach State on future schedules? Stay tuned.