Box Score Box Score

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The No. 2 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (30-1) defeated the Utah Utes (24-8) 31-29, 30-16 and 30-18 in front of a crowd of 1,065 at Crimson Court Wednesday, giving head coach Dave Shoji the 800th win of his career.

Kim Willoughby led the way for Hawai`i with 18 kills and nine digs while Lauren Duggins again had a solid match, going for 13 kills, seven digs, eight blocks and a .478 hitting percentage. Lily Kahumoku added 14 kills and seven digs while Maja Gustin hit .400 with six kills. Libero Melissa Villaroman led the way in the back row, racking up 13 digs, while Jennifer Carey had 22 assists and six blocks up front.

The Utes started the match well, jumping out to a 6-2 lead early in game one. Utah continued to hold their lead at 11-6 before UH coach Dave Shoji was forced to call his first timeout. The Rainbow Wahine gave up one more point before they went on a 7-2 run to cut the lead to 14-13. Utah got the lead back up to four points at 20-16 before UH rattled off a 6-2 run, capped by a cross-court slam by Willoughby to tie the game at 22, forcing a Utah timeout. Hawai`i then scored two more points, taking their first lead of 24-22 since they started the game up 1-0. After the teams traded points, the Utes got on a little 3-0 run of their own, taking the lead back at 26-25. The teams traded small runs with Utah holding game point at 29-28. But a 3-0 Rainbow Wahine run, capped by two straight big blocks by Duggins gave UH the 31-29 victory in the first game.

Game two stayed tight as the teams were tied at 10 before Hawai`i went on a 4-0 run to put them up 14-10, forcing another Utah timeout. The Rainbow Wahine kept running on Gustin's serve, as they extended their lead to 19-10 before the Utes were finally able to respond. Utah was able to get the deficit down to 22-16 but Willoughby then scored three straight points (two kills and a solo block), starting an 8-0 run that gave the Rainbow Wahine the 30-16 win in game two.

Utah came out of the break on a mission in game three, going up 8-5 before UH went on a 6-0 run on the strength of Gustin's serve to go up 11-8. Hawai`i kept rolling, extending their lead to 19-12 on an ace by Hedder Ilustre. The Utes got back within six at 22-16 before a big block by Carey and Duggins gave UH a 25-16 lead before Utah took a timeout. Then Willouhby took over, scoring four of UH's next five points as they beat Utah 30-18 in game three to take the match.

Hawai`i now heads to the NCAA tournament, getting the automatic berth from the Western Athletic Conference. The NCAA selection show will be on at 4 p.m. Hawai`i time on Sunday, Dec. 1 on ESPN News.

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