Amber Igiede’s career night helps Hawaii win, coach Robyn Ah Mow hits milestone

A career night for Hawaii middle blocker Amber Igiede marked a milestone win for Rainbow Wahine coach Robyn Ah Mow.

Igiede and the Rainbow Wahine overcame a slow start to Saturday’s Big West match against UC Davis, surviving in five sets to give Ah Mow the 100th win of her coaching career.

Igiede posted a career-high 24 kills and teamed with Riley Waggoner with a block-on match point for the 16-25, 25-12, 28-26, 19-25, 15-9 win at University Credit Union Center to finish in Davis, California, and begin the celebration — though Ah Mow wasn’t sure what the fuss was about after the last point.

“She didn’t realize it because she’s so into the game and so passionate about the game,” Igiede said. “I’m really excited and happy that we were able to give her the 100th win.”

UH (14-6, 11-1 Big West) completed his road trip and remained alone at the top of the conference standings. The Rainbow Wahine improved to 100-35 overall and 71-9 in conference play during Ah Mow’s six-year tenure as head coach.

“It takes the whole team,” Ah Mow said in a phone interview. “I don’t play on the court, they play on the court. I told them that the coaches can build a culture, but it’s the players who have to believe in what we’re selling to make the team work.

“It’s a great team win, including the coaches. I like to surround myself with good people. For me it’s a good team win with the girls who have prevailed over the last six years.”

Igiede took a leading role in Saturday’s drama to help UH shake off the tough start and claim their third five-set win of the season. The junior elevated her career by hitting .432s in 37 total tackles. She was also in seven of UH’s nine blocks, serving an ace.

Freshman outside hitter Caylen Alexander had six of her 18 kills in the deciding third set and setter Kate Lang had five kills and 50 assists.

Against Braelyn Akana contributed nine kills from 16 attempts. Waggoner fought offensively for most of the game with five kills and five errors in 35 swings. But the UH Floor captain put away two kills late in the fifth set, had 11 digs and teamed up with Igiede on the block to end the match.

Libero Tayli Ikenaga led the UH defense with 14 attacks. Kendra Ham added 12 digs and her third ace of the night gave UH a match point in the fifth set.

UC Davis (9-13, 4-8) threatened a 16-match losing streak in the series with UH, led by winger Demari Webb, a season-best of 21 kills in 44 attempts. Middle blocker Josephine Ough added 11 kills and featured in seven of the Aggies’ 11 blocks.

“I have to give Davis props. They played an A game,” Ah Mow said. “From serving to passing to attacking, I felt they did great and we needed to step up.”

UC Davis was never behind in the first set, hitting .452 to UH’s .176, led by Webb’s five kills. The Aggies finished the set with an 8-1 run, leading to a UH meeting before the second.

“We had an energy slump and they won the serve-and-pass game,” said Igiede. “They were in the system a lot, so they could do all three options. So all we had to do was put a little more service pressure on them and improve our first contact so we could run them.”

Ham gave UH his luck early in the second set with two aces in an eight-point service turn. Igiede had two kills and three blocks in the opening wave, and the Wahine rolled to their most one-sided set win of the season when they hit .458 against UC Davis’ .111.

Two blowouts saw 10 ties in the third set before UH converted on his fourth set point chance to take the match lead.

The Aggies were never in the fourth and finished the set with a 4-1 run to send UH into a fifth set for the fifth time this season.

“On some tracks, Davis just overtook us,” said Ah Mow. “They dive after (trench) and we just drop balls on the ground. My conversation was, ‘Either you let them do this or you step up and overtake them now.’

After UH took a 3-0 lead, UC Davis rallied to equalize 5-5. UH pushed back again and led 11-7 on Igiede’s 23rd kill. After UC Davis closed at 11-9, kills from Igiede and Wagoner and Ham’s ace set up the walk-off block.

Th Rainbow Wahine return home to face Long Beach State on Friday at the SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Beach (14-6, 9-3) defeated Cal Poly (12-10, 9-3) in five sets on Saturday and will give Manoa an eight-game winning streak. UH also meets Cal State Fullerton in their penultimate home game of the season.