Rainbow Wahine fall to UCLA in five-set showdown

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The University of Hawaii women’s volleyball team wrapped up their time in the Lucky Aces Invitational on Sunday.

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The ‘Bows finishing a grueling weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada against UCLA.

Sunday marked the 80th meeting between the ‘Bows and ‘Bruins and it would go the distance, a five-set thriller going the way of UCLA.

“Yeah, it’s frustrating that we couldn’t finish that off, but I mean, you see a lot of good takeaways from the non-conference segment and I think we’ll be in good shape as we head into the conference, so that’s what we’re shifting our focus to.” Head coach Joshua Walker said.

Hawaii battling the Bruins for the invitational title, UH actually reached Aloha Ball first and initially thought the match was over.

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However, a net violation gave UCLA some life, Bruins survive three match points, downing UH and snapping the ‘Bows 7-match winning streak.

Outside hitter Panna Ratkai led the way with a team high 19 kills while middle blocker Miliana Sylvester added 18 kills and 7 blocks.

“I think there is duality like we can be really proud of the work that we put in and the fight that we’ve put up against really good opponents,” Slyvester said. “At the same time, we still have higher standards and benchmarks that we want to meet going into the conference.”

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The ‘Bows open Mountain west play on Friday, hosting New Mexico.

The two-match series will be televised live on K5.