Box Score Box Score

PULLMAN, Wash. – The No. 9 seeded University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine (29-5) defeated Eastern Washington (21-6) 30-22, 28-30, 30-20 and 30-28 in front of 625 fans at the Bohler Gym on the Washington State campus in the second round of the 2001 NCAA tournament.

Kim Willoughby officially made her assault on the NCAA record book today, as her 35 kills moved her up to 815 on the season, as she now has the seventh most kills in a single season in NCAA history. Along with that, Willoughby added 17 digs and a .352 hitting percentage on the match.

Lauren Duggins added another great performance, earning her second straight double-double with 13 kills and 17 digs, while hitting .579 and blocking six balls. Maja Gustin added 17 kills while Margaret Vakasausau had 67 assists and 17 digs.

Eastern Washington started out the match well, jumping out to a 6-4 lead in the first game. The Eagles extended their lead to 11-8 to force Wahine head coach Dave Shoji to call a timeout. Hawaii again was down three before a quick 3-0 run tied the game at 15. With the score again tied at 17, the Wahine began to roll with a 4-0 run to give them the 21-17 lead. From there, Hawaii kept the pressure on, taking the first game 30-22.

The Eagles again poured it on early in game 2, taking a 7-4 lead. Eastern Washington continued to lead before a 3-0 Wahine run tied the game at 19. The teams kept trading points before the Eagles jumped out to a 28-25 lead. Hawaii ran off three straight points to tie the game at 28 before Eastern Washington took the game 30-28 to tie the match at one game apiece.

Willoughby took over at the start of game 3, as her first two kills of the game put her at 800 kills on the season, and put the Wahine up 2-1. Hawaii continued to turn it on, extending their lead to 8-3 and 10-4 before running away with the game 30-20.

The two teams played the fourth game close in the beginning with ties at points seven through 12 before a 3-0 run put the Wahine up 15-12. But the Eagles wouldn't go away that easily, as they responded with a 4-0 run of their own to take the lead at 16-15. Hawaii took a quick three-point lead at 22-19 before the Eagles came back to take the lead at 23-22. The teams continued to go back and forth trading sideouts before a Gustin kill and a Nohea Tano ace ended the game 30-28.

Hawaii will now face UCLA in the regional semifinals, though sites and times are still unknown at this point. The Wahine fell to the Bruins in a match that took place on September 2. Keep posted for more information.