The Cal Poly volleyball team traveled to Hawaii to take on the No. 11 Rainbow Wahine, but couldn’t pull off a victory in their first Big West conference game of the season.
Outside hitters Adlee Van Winden and Raeann Greisen each had 12 kills to lead the Mustangs (8-4, 0-1 Big West), who lost in three sets (25-20, 25-12, 25-19) to the host Rainbow Wahine.
Van Winden added a team-high 11 digs on the night in a game that had a few close moments for Cal Poly, but not enough chances for the Mustangs to win.
In the first set, the Rainbow Wahine (12-1, 2-0) were up 16-11 before the Mustangs fought back to be down 19-18 thanks to block assists from outside hitter Hannah Schleis, middle blocker Savannah Niemen and Van Winden. The two teams traded points to get to 21-20 in favor of the Rainbow Wahine before Hawaii managed four more points to win the first set.
Cal Poly kept it close in the beginning of the third set, trading the lead with Hawaii and later charging back from a 17-10 deficit to make it 23-18, but couldn’t force another set and lost 25-19.
Setter Taylor Nelson led the Mustangs with 26 assists and had 10 digs as well.
This game marks the first back-to-back loss for the Mustangs this season. They look to stop the streak Friday at home against No. 25 Long Beach State.