Box Score Box Score

RENO, Nev. - The No. 2 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (26-1) defeated the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (19-16) 30-13, 30-19 and 30-16 in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament at the Virginia Street Gym.

Lauren Duggins had a great match, hitting .636 with eight kills, six blocks and three aces. Lily Kahumoku had a 16 kills, six digs and a .452 hitting percentage. Kim Willoughby added 16 kills and six digs of her own while hitting .577. Maja Gustin also threw in seven kills and a .455 hitting percentage.

The Rainbow Wahine started out the first game up 5-0 on the strength of a kill and two aces by Willoughby. Hawai`i was able to extend their lead to 11-3 before Louisiana Tech coach Heather Mazeitis called her first timeout. UH kept rolling out of the break, pushing the score to 14-3. They got the lead as high as 21-5 before a block by Duggins and Jennifer Carey gave them the 30-13 game one win.

The Lady Techsters started out better in the second game as they held Hawai`i to just a 10-9 lead early on. UH then responded with a 10-4 run to get the score up to 20-13. LTU continued to battle, keeping the lead between six and seven before a couple of aces by Duggins gave the Rainbow Wahine the 30-19 win. Duggins hit a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage with five kills on five attempts in game two.

Game three saw Louisiana Tech hold a 3-2 lead early before Hedder Ilustre came in and served seven straight points to go up 9-3. Hawai`i was able to extend their lead to 21-8 and 25-11 before a Willoughby kill ended the match with a 30-16 game three victory.

Brianna Sibley led the way for Louisiana Tech with eight kills and four digs, while Cristine Sant'Anna added six kills, five digs and three aces. Lia Mora also played well with 20 assists and four digs.

Hawai`i advances to the semifinals of the WAC tournament where they will face the winner of San Jose State and Rice tomorrow at 5 p.m. Pacific.

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