Box Score Box Score

HONOLULU - The No. 2 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (2-1) defeated the No. 6 Minnesota Golden Gophers (0-1) 30-20, 30-18 and 30-18 on the first night of the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic Friday in front of a crowd of 6,807 at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Kim Willoughby led all players with 21 kills and a .472 hitting percentage. Lily Kahumoku added 11 kills and a match-high 15 digs. UH also got a significant contribution from the middle hitters as Maja Gustin ended up with nine kills and a .421 hitting percentage while Lauren Duggins had eight kills, six digs, three blocks and a .467 hitting percentage. Freshman Kanoe Kamana`o had another solid performance, putting up 36 assists, four digs and two aces.

The Rainbow Wahine used their middle attack to jump out to a 14-11 lead in game one as Gustin and Duggins combined for six of UH's first nine kills. The Gophers would reel off two straight points to cut the deficit to one before three Willoughby kills and an ace by Ashley Watanabe put Hawai`i up 18-13 and force a Minnesota timeout. The Rainbow Wahine would use a 10-2 run late in the game to take the first game 30-20.

Minnesota would open up the second game with a 6-4 lead, but Hawai`i came back, using a 7-2 run, including three straight points on Kahumoku's serve, putting UH up 13-8. UH continued to roll, as Willoughby ended up with 10 kills in the game, pushing the Rainbow Wahine to a 30-18 game two victory.

Hawai`i proved to be too much in the third game, taking leads at 12-5 and 21-12 before ending the match with a 30-18 game three victory.

The Rainbow Wahine will next face No. 22 Louisville, who fell to No. 13 UCLA 30-24, 30-13 and 32-30 in the first match of the classic, on Sunday, Aug. 31 at approximately 5 p.m. The match will be preceded by a match between UCLA and Minnesota at 3 p.m. Louisville will play Minnesota in the only match tomorrow, at 1 p.m.

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