Box Score Box Score

RENO, Nev. – The No. 2 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (20-0, 8-0 Western Athletic Conference) defeated the Nevada Wolf Pack (18-4, 7-2) 30-25, 30-21 and 30-20in front of a Nevada record crowd of 2,023 at the Virginia Street Gym Friday, to extend their WAC winning streak to 60 matches and their season game-winning streak to 45.

Kim Willoughby hit .435 with a match-high 25 kills and eight digs. Lily Kahumoku added 17 kills and 11 digs while Lauren Duggins and Maja Gustin combined for 11 kills and five blocks. Margaret Vakasausau added a double-double with 20 assists and 11 digs.

Hawai`i jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first game before Nevada came back to tie the score at 8-8. The teams exchanged points with UH's lead swaying between one and two points before the Rainbow reeled off a couple points to go up 16-13. The Wolf Pack were again able to fight back as a Michelle More kill tied the score at 20-20. UH middle hitter Karin Lundqvist went down with a left knee injury at 23-22 Hawai`i. Nevada was able to cut the lead again to 25-24 but a Kahumoku kill capped a 5-1 run that gave UH the 30-25 win in game one. Willoughby had 10 kills in the first game while Kahumoku added seven.

The second game started out close as a Salavea kill brought the score to 7-7. The Wolf Pack kept it close at 11-10 but a solo block and a kill by Kahumoku helped UH extend their lead to 14-10. Hawai`i continued to pour it on, extending their lead to 17-12, forcing Nevada head coach Devin Scruggs to call a timeout. Willoughby added two more points on consecutive kills to get the Rainbows lead to 19-12. UH was able to extend it to 23-13 and 26-15 before eventually taking game two 30-21.

UH again jumped out early in the third game, as a couple of Duggins kills put them up 8-1 to force a Nevada timeout. The Rainbow Wahine continued to keep up the pressure, extending the lead to 23-10 on a couple of big Willoughby kills and an ace by Duggins. The Wolf Pack then started to put up a fight, going on a 7-1 run to cut the Hawai`i lead to 24-17 and forcing UH coach Dave Shoji to take a timeout. Then Willoughby responded with a kill and an ace before a kill by Kahumoku extended the UH lead to 27-17. From there it was academic as a Wolf Pack hitting error gave the Rainbow Wahine the 30-20 win in game three.

Hawai`i will next head to Boise, Idaho for a match with the Boise State Broncos tomorrow at 7 p.m. Mountain time, before heading home on Sunday, Nov. 3. After returning home, Hawai`i will face Nevada and Boise State at home before hosting the defending national champion Stanford Cardinal on Sunday, Nov. 10. Tickets for the Stanford match are going fast as there are less than 100 available.

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