Box Score Box Score

HOUSTON -- The No. 12 University of Hawai'i Wahine volleyball team (9-4, 2-0) defeated Rice University (6-5, 1-2) 30-10, 30-14 and 30-21 at Autry Court.

The story of the match was at the net, as the Wahine had 12 team blocks to the Owls' four. Hawai'i hit .389 as a team while holding their second consecutive opponent to a negative percentage (Rice hit -.029. Kim Willoughby again led the Wahine with 17 kills, three aces and 10 digs, while Margaret Vakasausau added 34 assists, five digs and seven blocks. Lauren Duggins had another good match with a match-high nine blocks to go with her four kills, three aces, six digs and .333 hitting percentage. Maja Gustin also added 11 kills while hitting .529.

Hawai'i jumped out to an early 11-4 lead in the first game and extended it to 17-5 before cruising to a 30-10 victory. The Owls started to show life in the second game, closing the Wahine lead from 8-4 to 14-12. But then UH again started to dominate again, scoring 11 straight points to take the 25-12 lead before taking the game 30-14.

After the break, Rice came out and started to show why they were the leader of the WAC's Eastern division as they opened up a 7-2 leadon UH. The Wahine came back to tie the score at 11 before the Owls took another lead at 16-13. Hawai'i then got back to business, ending the match on a 17-5 run to win the third game 30-21.

UH now heads to Tulsa, Okla., for a match with the Golden Hurricane on Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. The Wahine will then head home to face the final two Eastern division opponents in UTEP and SMU.