Box Score Box Score

PULLMAN, Wash. – The No. 9 seeded University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine (28-5) defeated the Washington State Cougars (17-12) 34-32, 30-26 and 30-23 in front of 2,035 fans at the Bohler Gym on the Washington State campus in the first round of the 2001 NCAA tournament.

Kim Willoughby led the way for the Wahine with 22 kills and 10 digs. Nohea Tano played great in her return to Wazzu, posting eight kills on just 11 attempts for a .727 hitting percentage. Tano also added 13 digs and a team high three blocks, while fellow middle Lauren Duggins had her first double-double of the year with 10 kills, 12 digs and a .389 hitting percentage. Maja Gustin added 16 kills, while Margaret Vakasausau had 53 assists and 15 digs.

The two teams traded points to start off the first game before a quick 3-0 run gave the Cougars a 6-4 lead. Washington State extended their lead to 19-15 before a 3-0 Wahine run cut the lead to 19-18. After trading points for a little while before a 3-1 Hawaii run put them up 25-24. The Cougars put on a run to hold game point at 29-27. Hawaii then responded with three straight points again to hold their own game point at 30-29. They again held game points at 31, 32 and 33 before taking the game 34-32.

Hawaii continued to roll at the start of game 2, taking a 7-3 lead to force Washington State head coach Cindy Fredrick to call a timeout. The Wahine kept pouring it on, extending their lead to 11-3 and 15-5. The Wahine had a 20-10 lead when the WAC Player of the Year Kim Willoughby went out with a knee injury. With Willoughby on the sideline, the Cougars went on a 9-1 run to cut the Wahine lead to 21-19. WSU pulled within one point at 27-26, but a 3-0 Hawaii run gave them the second game 30-26.

The Cougars started out strong out of the break, holding an early 3-1 lead. But the Wahine fought back, taking their first lead at 6-5. Hawaii continued to pour it on, extending their lead to 19-10 and 24-15 before taking the third game 30-23.

Hawaii will now take on the Eagles of Eastern Washington in the second round match of the NCAAs at 4 p.m. PT here at the Bohler Gym at Washington State. Eastern Washington upset the Pac-10's Oregon State Beavers in a thrilling five game match, 33-31, 19-30, 30-28, 23-30 and 15-10 in the sub-regional's first match.