Two points away from an upset of No. 23 UCLA, Hawaii saw a five-point lead evaporate late in the fourth set and the Bruins pulled away in the fifth in the finale of the Outrigger Volleyball Challenge today at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
Charitie Luper, making her first appearance of the season, came off the bench to lead UCLA with 17 kills in 33 swings and her seven-point service run at the end of the fourth set proved the pivotal swing in the match. Outside hitter élan McCall added 16 kills in UCLA’s 20-25, 25-13, 23-25, 25-23, 15-9 win before a crowd of 5,416.
With the win, UCLA (4-1) claimed the tournament title and the Bruins took a 39-38 lead in a series dating back to 1974.
UH freshman outside hitter Caylen Alexander led UH with 18 kills and 11 digs and junior middle blocker Amber Igiede posted her third career double-double with 11 kills and 10 blocks.
Igeide and setter Kate Lang were named to the All-Tournament team.
In the first set, the Wahine put together the first extended the run of the match with Alexander’s hard, flat serves sparking a five-point UH run and an 11-6 lead. UCLA caught the Wahine at 13-13, but a Riley Wagoner kill triggered a 7-2 UH surge and the Wahine maintained the cushion to end UCLA’s run of nine consecutive sets won.
>> PHOTOS: Hawaii vs. UCLA
The Bruins responded by reeling off a 10-0 run with Francesca Alupei on the service line early in the second set. Luper, a preseason All-Pac-12 pick, put away four kills in the UCLA rout.
UCLA again bolted ahead in the third set to open up a 6-1 lead. This time, UH responded with a 7-1 surge and took an 8-7 lead on Igiede’s ace. UCLA surged ahead again to take an 18-14 lead before Igiede took over in a 6-0 UH run.
The junior was in on four blocks, two solo, and tapped down an overpass. Her second solo block of Dodson gave UH a 20-18 lead. The Wahine traded sideouts from there and Igiede ended the set with her ninth kill of the match.
Igeide opened the fourth set with her 10th block, to tie her career high and strung together a four-point service turn highlighted by three Alexander kills.
With UH up 16-13, Annika de Goede, who usually goes to bench on her back-row turns, stayed in to serve and fired the first two aces of her career in a five-point run that stretched UH’s lead to 20-13.
Tiffany Westerberg’s kill pushed UH’s lead to 23-18 with the Sheriff Center crowd roaring.
A service error sent Luper to the line and she spent the rest of the set there in a stunning seven-point run. Her ace off the tape tied it at 23-23 and Iman Ndiaye’s kill gave UCLA set point. The Wahine mishandled Luper’s next serve to send the match to a fifth set.
Luper and Alupei teamed on a block for the first point of the race to 15 and the Bruins opened up a 9-5 lead when a miscommunication in the back row led to a UCLA ace. The Bruins maintained control to hand UH its second five-set loss of the season.
UH continues its homestand with a two-match series with USC starting Friday.
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