AUSTIN, TEXAS—For two sets, the Hawaii women’s volleyball team kept to the script.
Unforced errors plagued the Rainbow Wahine in the first set only for Hawaii to come back and win the second when it looked like they were severely outmatched against the two-time defending national champions on Friday.
The Longhorns’ natural talent took over from there and Texas earned its first win ever over the Rainbow Wahine in Texas, 25-14, 23-25, 25-17, 25-19 in front of 4, 531 in attendance at Gregory Gymnasium.
Jenna Wenaas led the Longhorns with 15 kills and Kamehameha alumna Devin Kahahawai hit.476 with a career-high 12 kills while getting the start alongside another Kamehameha alum, Keonilei Akana.
Junior Caylen Alexander had a match-high 20 kills to lead UH (6-3) and sophomore Stella Adeyemi added 11 kills and hit a season-high.500.
The height disparity was evident the moment both teams walked onto the court to start the match, but the Rainbow Wahine leave Austin feeling they missed an opportunity to at least take the match to a fifth set.
“I think it was our serving and our serve-pass game, but also, if we are taking teams out of system with whatever we are doing, then we’ve got to win,” Hawaii coach Robyn Ah Mow said. “That’s a big team and I don’t think they were necessarily going over (our block). If we were just a little bit more disciplined with our blocking than I feel like we were right there.”
Hawaii somehow outblocked Texas 8-4 and was good at getting touches on blocks to start rallies the first two sets.
Madisen Skinner, a returning AVCA first-team All-American, had 10 kills in 24 swings but committed four errors.
Middle blockers Miliana Sylvester and Jacyn Bamis were each in on four blocks for Hawaii, which started to struggle with its right-side blocking in the third set as Texas took advantage of many one-on-one looks.
“That’s a good team. If you give them free balls they are going to have one-on-one,” Ah Mow said. “I think any good team would do that.”
Hawaii setter Kate Lang was on point early in the match and finished with 32 assists and six digs.
Hawaii subbed in Tyla Reese Mane for Lang late in the first set to help with blocking and put freshman Adrianna Arquette in the back row. Arquette earned her first two collegiate assists on her first two sets and finished with five in the match.
Lang returned in the second set and Hawaii hit.273 or better in each set the rest of the way, including.379 in the fourth set with 14 kills in 29 swings.
“We play with a lot of heart and I think during that second set it showed the most,” Lang said. “During the third and fourth (set), we kept that fight but I think we let things bleed a little bit and let them go on runs.”
Six service errors doomed Hawaii in the first set.
A Tali Hakas ace put the Rainbow Wahine ahead 20-15 in the second set before Texas responded with a 7-0 run to take the lead.
After Hawaii called its second timeout, UH closed on a 5-1 run to win the set on an Alexander kill off a perfect set from Lang.
Adeyemi, who had three kills in the second set, added three more on five swings in the third set without an error.
Texas jumped on UH with an 8-1 run to start the third set with the match tied at one set apiece. Hawaii pulled to 12-11 when an Adeyemi kill capped a 9-2 UH run, but Texas was just too tough on the outside.
With her family in attendance, Adeyemi, who is from Nebraska, had the most efficient performance of her career after combining for more hitting errors than kills in the last three matches combined.
“Just taking the things that I needed to do differently from the previous (match) and applying that (tonight) and sticking with the gameplan was really huge,” Adeyemi said. “Just reminding myself high hands, high hands, obviously the hands are going to be there and for me and it’s just going up there and attacking them high.”
Texas put Hawaii away hitting.500 in the fourth set. Akana finished with six digs and Kahahawai added two block assists for the Longhorns, who swept No. 20 Baylor on Wednesday.
Hawaii will make the 90-minute drive to Waco, Texas, Saturday to play the Bears.
