Box Score Box Score

HONOLULU - The No. 2 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (17-0) defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (15-5) 34-32, 30-18 and 30-25 in front of a crowd of 6,522 at the Stan Sheriff Center Tuesday.

Kim Willoughby moved into fourth place on the UH career-kills list after she led the team with 23 kills and eight digs while hitting .405. Lily Kahumoku added 21 kills, eight digs and a .429 hitting percentage as she reached the 1,000-kill mark on her career. Hedder Ilustre added 10 digs and four aces while Melissa Villaroman had a match-high 13 digs and a rare libero kill.

Hawai`i tied a school record tonight as they won their 36th consecutive game, dating back to Sept. 7 of this season. But that streak was in serious danger in the first game. Notre Dame took a 15-11 lead into the media timeout before UH bounced back with a 7-1 run, capped by an Ilustre ace, to put the Rainbow Wahine up 18-16. But the Irish were ready for the fight, as they sprung off three straight points late in the game, holding game point at 29-27. After UH head coach Dave Shoji called a quick timeout, Willoughby single-handedly brought the Rainbows back with three straight kills to put them up 30-29. But Notre Dame responded with two more points to hold another game point at 31-30. It continued to be a battle as two Willoughby kills, along with one by Susie Boogaard and the game-winner by Kahumoku ended up giving UH the exciting game one victory 34-32.

From there Hawai`i buckled down, taking an early lead in games two and three and holding them as they won the second and third games 30-18 and 30-25, respectively. But even with match point at 29-22, the Irish never said die as they got three straight points before a Kahumoku kill ended the match.

Hawai`i will now get one day of rest and practice before they host two tough conference matches against San Jose State and Fresno State on Thursday, Oct. 24 and Friday, Oct. 25, both in the Stan Sheriff Center and both at 7 p.m.

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