Volleyball women fail against No. 20 Baylor

WACO, Texas — The University of Hawaii women’s volleyball team capped its first road trip of the season with a four-set loss to No. 20 Baylor on Saturday at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.

Following a familiar pattern, the Rainbow Wahine lost the first set to the Bears before turning it up in the second set, posting a .515 batting average to tie the game. But Baylor (8-3) made crucial runs late in the third and fourth sets to finish off a victory over the ‘Bows (6-4) with scores of 25-14, 21-25, 25-14 and 25-17.

UH began the road with a five-set loss at UNLV on Tuesday, then lost in four sets to No. 8 Texas on Friday and Baylor on Saturday, ending the non-conference portion of the schedule. The three-game losing streak is UH’s longest since opening the 2022 season 0-3 at the Texas A&M Invitational.

UH outside attacker Caylen Alexander led the Rainbow Wahine with 18 kills, the highest of the game, while hitting .302 and 10 digs in her eighth double-double of the season and 18^th her career.

setter Kate Long scored her 40th career double-double with 35 assists, 11 digs and three kills.

Kate Long with the Pancake Dig and achieved the double-double No. 4⃣0⃣ of her career!#GoBows #SISTERHOOD pic.twitter.com/c1E6TvV2NT

— Hawaii W. Volleyball (@HawaiiWVB) 22 September 2024

UH has offensive production in the middle with newcomers Miliana Sylvester 10 kills with a caliber of .350 and Jacyn Bamis and scored nine kills in 18 attempts and averaged .389.

Sweeper Tayli Ikenaga had 10 digs and scored in double figures in nine of ten games this season.

Elise McGhee led Baylor with 16 kills and Kendal Murphy added 13 kills and assisted on three of the Bears’ nine aces. Manuela Bibinbe was involved in eight of Baylor’s nine blocks, including three solo blocks, and the Bears’ offense averaged .376 while UH averaged .231.

UH traded points with Baylor early, with Alexander scoring on six of her first eight shots, but the Bears pulled away midway through the first set. UH trailed 13-12 before Baylor closed the set with a 12-2 run to win the first set.

UH won the second set for the sixth time in 10 matches and the third time on the road by posting their highest hitting percentage in a set this season. The ‘Bows managed 17 kills in 33 attacks with no errors in the set, with Bamis and Sylvester combining to hit 10 of 10 with five kills each in the middle. Bamis broke a 19-19 tie and then hit UH’s next three kills to give UH a set point, and an error by Baylor tied the game.

The third and fourth sets followed the pattern of the first, with Baylor closing set 3 on a 9-2 run and closing the match with a 10-3 run in the fourth set. McGhee went 7 of 10 with an ace in the third set and had three more kills in the fourth set. UH fell behind early in the fourth set but caught up with a four-point run highlighted by two Alexander aces to tie at 14-14. But Baylor pulled away with a 6-1 run to claim its third straight win in the all-time series with UH.

Caylen Alexander Dealing with the service line! #GoBows #SISTERHOOD pic.twitter.com/SJM3LoOT3O

— Hawaii W. Volleyball (@HawaiiWVB) 22 September 2024

The Rainbow Wahine return to SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center next week to open the Big West schedule. UH will face UC Irvine on Friday, Sept. 27 and Cal State Fullerton on Sept. 28.

#HawaiiWVB