In a game with seasonal, conference, and rivalry status on the line, it took the Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine (8-5, 2-1 Big West) five sets to edge out UC San Diego (7-8, 1-3 Big West) women’s volleyball in a comeback win. Friday’s result at LionTree Arena slots Hawai’i into fourth place and UCSD into eighth in the Big West.
Set scores were 13-25, 18-25, 25-14, 25-12 and 15-10.
“It definitely shows us our potential,” said junior outside hitter Katie Rapp in a post-game interview with The UCSD Guardian. “At the same time, [it is] a learning lesson of how we need to execute at the end and just keep our foot on the gas the whole way through.”
After losing their grip on a 2-0 set lead, UCSD entered the decisive fifth set with a pair of well-placed kills to level out the Rainbow Wahine. Cleaning up errors on both sides of the ball proved vital for the Tritons, who got off to a 5-3 lead.
Nevertheless, a 6-0 Hawai’i response put UCSD in a 9-5 hole in the shortened set. Senior outside hitter Ava McInnes’ four kills in the fifth set would not be enough as the Tritons dropped their third consecutive Big West matchup. McInnes led UCSD with 14 kills.
“This team has a lot of fight, all 20 of us,” Rapp said. “Hawai’i just played a little bit more consistent than us tonight towards the end, and that’s what it came down to.”
The Tritons got off to a 7-1 start in the first set, including a pair of service aces from McInnes and two kills from Rapp. The hosts continued to control the set with back-to-back points and a 4-0 run that gave them a large clearance in the opening minutes.
Discipline was the name of the game for UCSD in the first set, as they racked up six attack error points, five service aces, and 12 kills for a hitting percentage of 0.458. Graduate student outside hitter Kylie Pries, senior middle blocker Emily McDaniel, and Rapp led with three kills each.
“We started to play more of our game and the type of volleyball we played in preseason, so that’s a big win for us,” Rapp said.
Rapp set a new high in kills early in the next period with a slam to give her team their first lead of the set. The Rainbow Wahine dialed in, however, matching the Tritons’ five kills by the first timeout. Hawai’i eventually leveled the score at 11–11 thanks to a trio of kills.
UCSD fared well in the absence of freshman outside/opposite hitter Molly McCluskey, a two-time Big West Freshman of the Week. Four forced attack errors, a service error, and an ace contributed to an 18–12 lead after the initial Hawai’i threat. A late-set timeout proved useful for the squad, who rounded out the set with kills.
“We have a whole new staff, and we have a ton of freshmen and a ton of transfers,” Rapp said. “But this is a really special group, and we’re really connected. No one seems new, no one seems old; it’s just one big group.”
Hawai’i locked in again early on in the third set, working to prevent a Triton sweep, a would-be first for UCSD, who has lost each of their six previous matchups against the Rainbow Wahine. While Hawai’i earned a 0.400 hitting percentage midway through the set, it was the Tritons’ four service errors that ultimately created the 15–11 hole.
The momentum did not shift from this point. After two 0.000 hitting percentage sets, Hawai’i recorded a game-high 16 kills, combined with several Triton errors, that brought the set score to 2-1.
The Rainbow Wahine looked threatening in a back-and-forth fourth set, racking up four kills out of the gate. However, UCSD found their footing again, with Rapp nestling two kills in a 6-0 run. Hawai’i fought back with 5-0 and 6-0 runs of their own to build an 18-11 cushion, which, combined with Triton errors, forced a fifth set.
By the end of the game, the Tritons finished with a 0.183 hitting percentage, putting the game among the lower half of the season’s results. They struggled the most, however, on Thursday against Long Beach State, where they recorded a 0.026 figure in a 3-0 loss. Despite their underwhelming stats, UCSD kept it competitive throughout all three periods; its largest set loss was 25-20.
“We talked a lot today before the game and a little bit last night even about how we’re going to come out,” Rapp said. “[The] big thing was just come out strong and play, no pressure.”
UCSD still has plenty of opportunities to regroup for a strong conference campaign. The Tritons take a Southern California road trip next week, where they will look to notch wins against California State University, Bakersfield on Friday at 6 p.m. and California State University, Northridge on Saturday at 5 p.m. UCSD holds 15-7 and 6-1 records against the two respective squads.
