Box Score Box Score

HONOLULU - The No. 2 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (16-0) defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, (15-4) 30-26, 30-23 and 30-17, in front of a crowd of 6,501 at the Stan Sheriff Center Monday.

Kim Willoughby led the way for Hawai`i with 23 kills, 12 digs and three blocks. Lily Kahumoku added 16 kills and a match-high 14 digs while Lauren Duggins hit .643 with 10 kills. Margaret Vakasausau added a double-double with 26 assists and 10 digs while Hedder Ilustre had 12 digs.

The Irish started out well, taking a 15-12 lead into the media timeout in the first game. But a 7-1 UH run, with four kills from Willoughby, put Hawai`i up 19-16. Notre Dame came back again, tying the game at 20 and 22 before the Rainbows went on a 6-2 run before winning the game 30-26.

UH jumped out to a 13-7 lead early in game 2, but Notre Dame continued to fight, cutting the lead to 13-10. A 5-1 run put the Rainbow Wahine up seven before the Irish scored three straight to cut the lead back to 20-16. But three points was as close as the game would get as Jennifer Carey ended the game 30-23 with a dump, putting UH up 2-0.

Hawai`i then came out of the break on fire, posting leads of 12-4, 16-6, 20-9 and 27-14, before eventually ending the match with the 30-17 win in the third game.

The two teams will face off again tomorrow at 6 p.m. in the Stan Sheriff Center. UH will then host San Jose State and Fresno State on Thursday, Oct. 24 and Friday, Oct. 25 (both starting at 7 p.m.) to close out the week.