Senior middle Emily Maglio had 18 kills and junior hitter McKenna Granato added 15, but it was not enough, as Hawaii was eliminated from the NCAA volleyball tournament Friday night, falling to Illinois 25-18, 25-17, 13-25, 24-26, 15-10 in a first-round match at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle.
Senior libero Savanah Kahakai finished with 14 digs, moving her to No. 2 on the all-time digs list (1,417) as the Rainbow Wahine (20-8) made their earliest exit from the postseason tournament since 1997, when Hawaii was swept by Loyola Marymount in the first round at Long Beach State. It also was the third consecutive year that Hawaii’s season was ended by a team from the Big Ten and the fourth time in eight years the Wahine were ousted from the tournament here on Washington’s home court.
Sophomore middle Natasha Burns added 13 kills and Granato finished with a career-high 21 digs. Six of Hawaii’s eight losses this season came in five sets.
Sophomore hitter Jaqueline Quade led Illinois (22-10) with 15 kills.
Playing in its ninth five-set match of the season, the Rainbow Wahine could not overcome a 15-4 deficit in blocks. Three of those Illini blocks came in the deciding fifth set including a crucial stretch in which UH’s Emily Maglio was stuffed on consecutive plays of a 4-0 run. Illinois led 12-8 and sided-out to victory, closing out the match on a kill by Ali Bastianelli.