Box Score Box Score

HONOLULU - The No. 2 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (3-1) defeated the No. 22 Louisville Cardinals (1-2) 30-17, 30-24 and 30-18 in their second match of the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic Sunday in front of a crowd of 6,389 at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Hawai`i had an amazing match, hitting .486 (breaking the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic record of .469, previously held by the 1996 UH team vs. UCLA), finishing with 58 kills and just six errors on 107 attempts.

Lily Kahumoku had a great match putting away 18 kills with no errors for a .643 hitting percentage, while adding 14 digs and four blocks. Kim Willoughby added a match-high 20 kills, five blocks and a .514 hitting percentage. Both starting middles also played solid, as Maja Gustin had six kills, six blocks and a .357 hitting percentage while Lauren Duggins hit .500 with six kills, five blocks and three digs. Kanoe Kamana`o continued to impress in just her fourth collegiate match, notching 41 assists, seven digs, three aces and two blocks.

Hawai`i jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead early in game one, forcing Louisville to call an early timeout. The Cardinals would fight back, cutting the deficit to 12-9. UH would then respond with a 8-3 run, getting the lead back up to 20-12 on a Gustin kill. The Rainbow Wahine continued to roll throughout, taking the game 30-17. Hawai`i ended the first game with seven team blocks and .515 hitting percentage.

Louisville opened up game two up 5-2 and stayed with UH as the Rainbow Wahine took a slight 15-14 lead into the media timeout. The Cardinals would keep it close throughout but it proved not to be enough as Hawai`i took the second game 30-24.

UH kept banging away in the third game, taking leads of 11-4, 18-8 and 29-16 before taking the match with a 30-18 game three victory.

The Rainbow Wahine will next face No. 13 UCLA on Sept. 1 at 4 p.m. for the classic championship. The Bruins beat No. 6 Minnesota in the early match of the night, 30-27, 30-21 and 30-19.

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