Injury-riddled Hawai’i falls on final day of regular season

HONOLULU – It took until the regular season’s final day, but the Big West finally did it.

After ending the year with a form of the conference title for the past five straight seasons, the University of Hawai’i women’s volleyball team saw their reign end on Saturday evening as Long Beach State dispatched the Rainbow Wahine in four sets on Senior Night, (18-25, 25-23, 23-25, 16-25).

The loss denied entry to the 2025 OUTRIGGER Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship tournament in Long Beach next week for Hawai’i, dropping the Rainbow Wahine out of the top six spots in the conference due to UC Irvine owning the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Anteaters swept Cal Poly on Saturday to force a win-or-season-over scenario for UH’s Senior Night contest.

Seniors Bri Gunderson and Tyla Reese Mane led the way in their final matches with Hawai’i, finishing their collegiate careers with double-digit kill outings. Freshman Cha’lei Reid was the third and final Rainbow Wahine to tally double figure putdowns, finishing with 13 kills on 34 swings to go along with nine digs.

Long Beach State (21-8, 14-4 Big West) used five service aces while hitting .407 as a team to take the first set, 25-18. Hawai’i hit .379 as a group in the opening frame, but three service errors from the Rainbow Wahine helped the visitors separate to begin the action.

Hawai’i responded in the second set, fighting back as the Mānoa Roofing Company opened for four blocks of work and an ace helped the Rainbow Wahine knot the match at one frame each.

The third set continued the seesaw action between sides, tying up with each other six different times in the first 14 points. Long Beach State started to pull away, taking five of the next six rallies to go up 12-8 and force a timeout from Hawai’i head coach Robyn Ah Mow.

The Rainbow Wahine responded after the timeout, going on a 9-4 run to jump ahead by a point and restart the rollercoaster ride between teams. Continuing to trade points, Hawai’i looked to take a 23-22 lead before a challenge from the Beach flipped the result and sucked the air out of Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

Bri Gunderson momentarily tied the set again at 23, but a service error by the Rainbow Wahine followed by an ace from LBSU’s Tatum Hoff wrapped up the all-important third stanza in favor of the visitors.

After seeing UH score the first point in the fourth set, Long Beach State ripped off seven straight points to take command of what would ultimately be the final frame. Hawai’i would pull back within three points, but that was the closest that the Rainbow Wahine would get as another run allowed the Beach to comfortably take the last stanza, 25-16.

Logan King finished with a double-double, totaling a match-leading 18 kills to go with 10 digs for LBSU. Rhiann Sheffie turned in a career-high 15 kills and six blocks in the win for the Beach while setter Madi Maxwell had a double-double of 43 assists and 15 digs.

The loss closes out the Rainbow Wahine’s time in the Big West Conference as the University of Hawai’i prepares to move into the Mountain West as a full-time member. UH will compete in Mountain West play for the first time beginning in 2026.

Saturday also closed out the careers of three seniors for the University of Hawai’i, seeing Bri Gunderson, Tyla Reese Mane and Morghn Monahan say aloha to the program.

Gunderson finished her lone season in the islands with impressive numbers, ending the year with the second-most blocks in the Big West (115), the eighth-highest hitting percentage (.300) and 14th-most points (311.5).

Reese Mane saved her best for last with a career-high 14 kills in her final collegiate match. The ‘Aiea product steadily developed after transferring home from Casper College (WY) in 2023, playing 91 sets and racking up 180 kills and 51.0 blocks in her senior season with the Rainbow Wahine.

After spending two seasons with Hawaii Pacific University and appearing in just one match in 2024, Monahan played in eight matches and 21 sets in her senior season at UH and provided a boost while injuries plagued the program with 17 kills, 10 digs and 13.0 blocks in her limited work.