The Hawaii women’s volleyball team finally avoided a bad start and used it to hold Pepperdine at bay 25-16, 25-22, 22-25, 21-25 and 15-9 in a marathon match that lasted nearly three hours tonight at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Junior Caylen Alexander had the team’s most kills with 25 and senior libero Tayli Ikenaga recorded a career-high 33 digs, bringing his total to 60 in the last two games for Hawaii (3-1), which earned a two-game tie with the Waves in front of a season-high 5,266 spectators.

Ikenaga fittingly finished the game with an ace, while Hawaii scored seven of the final eight points to avoid a heartbreaking defeat.

It was the first game in which UH did not lose the first set by double digits, as freshman Victoria Leyva was inserted into the starting lineup and made 12 digs.

Sophomore Stella Adeyemi, who came off the bench, hit .370 with 13 kills.

Middle Jacyn Bamis added 11 kills on 35 shots and was involved in five of Hawaii’s seven blocks.

>> PHOTOS: Hawaii vs. Pepperdine

Birdie Hendrickson scored 10 of her team-high 25 kills in the third set to help the Waves (1-3) win for the second time this season.

Grace Chillingworth added another 16 kills for Pepperdine, forcing a fifth set for the second straight game as Hawaii struggled to kill balls.

The fifth set was tied 8-8 when UH went on a five-point run that saw Pepperdine take both timeouts.

Alexander scored six kills in the fifth set, with her last UH giving her a match point that Ikenaga converted to win.

UH is back on the field on Tuesday and hosts Texas State at 7 p.m.