Box Score Box Score

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The No. 11 University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine (24-4) defeated the WAC tournament's No. 8 seed, Tulsa (9-15) 30-18, 30-14 and 30-17 at the Event Center Friday afternoon.

Kim Willoughby led the Wahine with 23 kills and nine digs, while hitting .487. Maja Gustin also added 14 kills and four aces while hitting .458. Wahine setters Margaret Vakasausau (31 assists and 11 digs) and Jen Carey (18 assists and 10 digs) added double-doubles while Lauren Duggins had seven kills, four digs and hit .429.

After starting off 4-0, the Wahine let up a 10-3 Tulsa run to trail 10-8. But three straight Gustin aces capped a run good run to put Hawaii up 15-11 at the media timeout. UH continued to roll, extending their lead to 19-13 before ending the first game 30-18. Willoughby ended the game with 10 kills and a .562 hitting percentage.

Hawaii continued to roll at the start of game 2, taking a 5-1 lead. They then extended their lead to 15-6 at the media timeout before taking the game 30-14. The Wahine continued to roll through game 3, but got an early scare as redshirt freshman Melody Eckmier landed awkwardly and left the game with a sprained ankle. UH went on to end the match with a 30-17.

“Obviously we didn't come out on fire,” Wahine head coach Dave Shoji said. “I think the girls only got about five hours of sleep last night (because our flight was delayed). We weren't real sharp, as I expected we wouldn't be. We did play some good volleyball, SOME.”

The Wahine will next face the winner of the Rice/Fresno St. match at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 17 in the semifinals of the WAC tournament. If Hawaii wins, they will play the championship match at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 18. All matches will be played at the Event Center on the San Jose State campus and will be broadcast on KCCN 1420 and on the Internet at uhathletics.hawaii.edu.