Box Score Box Score

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The No. 2 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (12-1, 1-0 WAC) swept through the San Jose State Spartans (2-10, 0-1 WAC) 30-22, 30-19 and 30-20 in front of a crowd of 875 at the Event Center in both teams' Western Athletic Conference opener Friday night. The Rainbow Wahine ran their WAC winning streak to 66-straight matches while picking up their 100th WAC win, with an overall conference record of 100-1 since joining the conference in 1996.

Kim Willoughby led the way for Hawai`i with 18 kills and five aces, while hitting .452. Lily Kahumoku added 11 kills and a .308 hitting percentage, while Maja Gustin had eight kills and five blocks with a .583 hitting percentage. Lauren Duggins had a great all-around match, finishing with five kills, two aces, four digs and four blocks, while Karin Lundqvist put away four kills on just four attempts.

The Spartans took a 2-1 lead in game one on Allison Dillon ace before two straight aces by Willoughby put UH up 4-2. San Jose State would keep it tight, as the Rainbow Wahine held a 15-11 lead at the media timeout. Hawai`i would continue to look sluggish as a 4-2 SJSU run cut the deficit to 17-15, forcing a timeout by head coach Dave Shoji. But Willoughby then took over, putting away two aces to give UH a 23-17 lead. Hawai`i would continue to roll, as they ended up taking the first game 30-22. Willoughby ended the game with seven kills and four aces while Kahumoku hit .429 with seven kills.

San Jose State would again start out good in game two, holding a 7-6 lead early on. But the Rainbow Wahine responded with a 4-0 run, capped by a Kahumoku ace, forcing a Spartan timeout. It would continue to be a fight as SJSU cut it to 16-14, before a huge 9-1 run extended the UH lead to 25-15. Hawai`i would then trade points with San Jose State before taking game two 30-19.

UH came out of the break looking to put the Spartans away, jumping out to a quick 6-0 lead, forcing a SJSU timeout. The Rainbow Wahine continued to run it up, extending their lead to 12-2 and 20-8 before an 8-1 Spartan run cut the deficit to 21-16. But that would be as close as San Jose State would get it as Hawai`i went on to take the third game 30-20.

The Rainbow Wahine will face the No. 16 Santa Clara Broncos on Sunday, Sept. 28 at 1 p.m. Pacific time. The match will be nationally televised on CSTV (DirecTV Ch. 610).

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