After a one-year hiccup, Hawaii is back on top of its conference
After a one-year hiccup, Hawaii is back on top of its conference
Nikki Taylor smacked 20 kills Tuesday night and the Rainbow Wahine swept Cal Irvine 26-24, 25-21, 25-14 in Irvine, Calif., to win the Big West, their 20th conference volleyball title in the past 21 seasons.
Emily Maglio collected eight kills with five blocks and Olivia Magill totaled 10 kills in Hawaii’s 19th consecutive victory – its last loss was a four-setter at home to UCLA on Sept. 6.
The Wahine (21-1, 14-0 Big West) had their string of conference domination broken last season by Long Beach State, but with Taylor leading the way this season, Hawaii secured its 24 conference championship (Western Athletic and Big West) and can close out a perfect league run in remaining games at Cal Poly on Thursday and Cal Santa Barbara on Saturday.
The Rainbow Wahine will have to wait until Nov. 29 to see if they’ve been selected to host first- and second-round play of what will be their 34th trip to the NCAA tournament.
Taylor, a junior opposite hitter, recorded 20 kills for the seventh time this season, hitting .405.
During a close first set, Maglio’s kill gave Hawaii a 25-24 lead, and an Anteaters’ error ended the set. The Rainbow Wahine had an easier time in the next two games, improving to 34-0 all-time against Irvine
Hawaii dropped a spot to eighth in Monday’s top 25, but it rose five spots to No. 27 in the RPI.