Box Score Box Score

HONOLULU - The No. 2 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (32-1) defeated the Washington Huskies (22-11) 30-26, 39-37 and 30-25 in front of a crowd of 6,496, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, at the Stan Sheriff Center Friday.

Kim Willoughby led the way for UH with 19 kills and a season-high 21 digs. Lily Kahumoku added a double-double of her own with 22 kills and 10 digs while Maja Gustin had 12 kills and three blocks (two of which were block solos). Lauren Duggins added five kills, six digs and seven blocks while Jennifer Carey also came up big at the net with six blocks and 21 assists. Melissa Villaroman also added 14 digs in the back row.

Washington started out the match up 5-4, but a Kahumoku kill and two straight blocks by Carey and Duggins put UH up 7-5. Carey then added two big kills to go up 10-6 and force a UW timeout. The Huskies came back on the strong serve of Kaitlin Leck, who had two aces in a 5-0 run that gave them the lead at 13-12. The game would continue to be nip-and-tuck before a big 4-0 run put UH up 28-23 and ready to close UW out. The Huskies fought back, but it wasn't enough as a solo block by Carey ended game one with a 30-26 Hawai`i win.

The Huskies stormed out to a quick lead in game two and held the lead all the way until a Willoughby kill tied the score at 19. The teams then traded little runs before a Paige Benjamin kill gave UW game point at 29-28. UH fought back with long, hard rallies, holding off a total of seven Washington game points. Then Hawai`i, down 37-36 got a kill from Willoughby, Gustin and Willoughby again to end game two with a 39-37 win.

Hawai`i would again have to work for their trip to the regionals in game three, as UW jumped out to leads fo 3-0, 9-4 and 11-7 before the Rainbow Wahine would use a big 5-0 run to go up 14-12. The game stayed close but Willoughby got the serve and ran off four more UH point to give Hawai`i a 26-21 lead late. Washington would continue to fight but the Rainbow Wahine ended the night with another big block by Carey and Duggins to preserve at 30-25 game three victory.

Hawai`i will now await the results from the other first and second round matches this weekend and find out where they will be headed for the NCAA Regionals on Sunday, Dec. 8. UH does know one thing though. They will face North Carolina, who advanced tonight with a four-game win over South Carolina, in the regional semifinals. Times, dates and places are to be determined. Check the UH website for update information on Sunday.

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