Women's Volleyball

Women's Volleyball Sweeps Nevada to Clinch Postseason Berth

Courtesy of Hawai'i Athletics

HONOLULU — The University of Hawai'i women's volleyball team secured a spot in the Mountain West Championship and clinched at least a share of the conference's regular-season title with a dominant sweep of Nevada on Saturday at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
 
The Rainbow Wahine (21-4) improved to 13-1 in Mountain West play with a 25-18, 25-16, 25-5 victory over the Wolf Pack (5-19, 3-11). UH clinched the postseason berth with four matches left in the regular season and will be a part of the four-team bracket for the Mountain West Championship set for Nov. 24-25 at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.
 
UH posted its 10th consecutive home sweep and has won 32 consecutive sets at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Nevada's five points in the third set were the fewest allowed by UH in a set since a 25-3 first set at Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 20, 2018.
 
UH middle blockers Miliana Sylvester and Rachel Purser combined for 20 kills on 31 attacks with just one error to hit .613 between them. Sylvester put away a match-high 13 kills in 21 swings with one error in a .571 hitting performance. Sylvester was also in on six of UH's seven blocks to surpass 300 total blocks for her career.
 
Purser finished with seven kills in 10 error-free attacks and went 15-for-23 without an error in the series. Outside hitter Cha'lei Reid put away 12 kills in 21 attempts and also went error-free to hit .571.
 
Senior outside hitter Panna Ratkai contributed seven kills and fired four aces, giving her nine for the series. Libero Victoria Leyva had a match-high 13 digs and two aces. Setter Adrianna Arquette distributed 27 assists to orchestrate an attack that hit a collective .344, the team's third-highest percentage of the season.
   
Nevada took an early lead in the opening set before UH surged in front with a 6-0 run with Ratkai on the service line. The 'Bows remained in control and ended the set on a kill by Purser.
 
Nevada opened the second set with a 5-0 run, and UH again responded with Ratkai serving. UH went on a 7-0 run to take the lead, and Nevada rallied to tie the set at 14-14. Sylvester put away her 10th kill of the match to spark a 7-1 UH run to push the 'Bows ahead 21-15. UH scored the final four points of the set, with Purser hammering an overpass to close it out.
 
After UH got a sideout to go up 3-1 in the third set, and Cameron Holcomb spent the next 12 points on the service line. Sylvester was in on a block and added a kill to give UH a 14-1 lead. Ratkai had two aces in a four-point run, and Reid ended the match with back-to-back kills. As a team, UH posted 14 kills with one error to hit .542 in the set.
 
The Rainbow Wahine will have an opportunity to claim the Mountain West regular-season championship outright when they face Air Force on Nov. 12 and 13 to close out their home schedule. The series marks the final homestand for Tali Hakas, Leilani Lopez, and Ratkai. The trio will be honored following the Senior Night match on Nov. 13.
 
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