University of Hawaii women’s volleyball beats Mississippi State in 5 to advance in NCAA Tournament
SEATTLE >> Hawaii middle blocker Amber Igiede put away 18 kills and outside hitter Brooke Van Sickle added 16 and the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team pulled out a five-set win over Mississippi State today to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Rainbow Wahine (22-7) recovered from shaky start to dominate the second and third sets before being forced to a fifth set for the second straight match. Igiede sparked the Wahine in the fifth set and UH advanced with a 17-25, 25-14, 25-13, 21-25, 15-11 win over the Bulldogs in Alaska Airlines Arena.
The Wahine will face the winner of today’s match between host Washington and Brown in the second round on Saturday. The match is set for 5 p.m.
Mississippi State right-side hitter Gabby Waden led the Bulldogs (25-6) with 20 kills on .372 hitting. The loss snapped a 13-match winning streak for the Southeastern Conference runner-up Mississippi State.
A Mississippi State team making its first NCAA Tournament in the program’s 47-year history appeared to be the more composed unit throughout the opening set. The Bulldogs raced out to a 19-9 lead against a misfiring Wahine attack. UH found its footing with three consecutive blocks and an ace by Kate Lang to close to 19-13. But Mississippi State halted the UH momentum and closed out the set on UH’s 10th hitting error.
After UH hit negative-.050 in the opening set, the match flipped in the second set and the Rainbow Wahine charged out an 8-3 lead. Consecutive aces by Igiede highlighted a 6-0 run that stretched the UH lead to 17-7. Mississippi State went on a five-point run to close to 18-13, but UH closed the set with a 7-1 run to even the match.
The Rainbow Wahine rolled the momentum into the third set and jumped out to a 6-1 lead. UH opened the set with a block and Igiede followed with three kills and Williams added two more. The Wahine turned back three consecutive MSU attacks to open up a 20-9 lead. Igiede hammered a kill off an overpass of Tayli Ikenaga’s serve to close out the set and give UH a 2-1 lead in the match.
With its landmark season on the line, Mississippi State battled back in the fourth set. The Bulldogs hit .429 in the set and opened up a 24-17 lead. UH fought off four set points before Lauren Myrick went through the UH block to send the match to a fifth set.
Igiede had six kills in the fifth set and Van Sickle fired an ace to help the Wahine take a 12-8 lead. The teams traded sideouts until UH reached match point at 14-11 on Van Sickle’s 16th kill. Mississippi State fought off the first but UH freshman Martyna Leoniak scored from the right side to send the Wahine to the second round.
