Box Score Box Score

HONOLULU - The No. 2 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (33-1) defeated the Idaho Vandals (19-11) 30-24, 30-20 and 30-21 in front of a crowd of 6,430 at the Stan Sheriff Center Thursday, to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. UH will meet former WAC rival Brigham Young tomorrow at 7 p.m.

Kim Willoughby put on a show, pounding 21 kills, four aces and 10 digs while hitting .447. Lily Kahumoku put together her seventh double-double in the last nine matches with 13 kills and a match-high 14 digs. Lauren Duggins added 13 kills and a .455 hitting percentage while Kanoe Kamana`o had 49 assists and eight digs. Maja Gustin went down with a mild sprained right ankle in the second game and did not return to the match. Gustin is questionable for tomorrow's match vs. Brigham Young.

The Vandals were fired up at the start of the match as they jumped out to a 9-7 lead early on. Kahumoku quickly turned it around, putting away three-straight kills to start a 5-0 run that gave UH the 12-9 advantage. Idaho stormed back to take a 15-14 lead at the media timeout and got their edge as high as 20-17. But that is when Willoughby took over, as she put away five kills in a huge 13-4 run before ending the first game 30-24 with an ace.

The Rainbow Wahine kept it rolling at the start of the second game, going up 8-3 and 13-4, forcing Idaho to use both of their timeouts early. The Vandals mounted a small comeback, cutting the deficit to 18-12, before Willoughby again took over on the service line, serving UH to a five-point run to extend the leat to 23-12. Willoughby ended up connecting on her 16th kill to end game two, 30-20.

Hawai`i continued to click throughout the third game, jumping out 10-4 before taking big leads at 23-14 and 27-16. UH would get to game-point at 29-17, but Idaho gave it one final effort, scoring four-straight points before falling 30-21.

Brigham Young defeated New Mexico State in the early match 30-17, 30-17 and 30-27. UH will play BYU in the NCAA Tournament for just the second time ever, beating the Cougars in the regional finals in 1996. Tomorrow's match will start at 7 p.m.

Match Statistics

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