Box Score Box Score

DALLAS, Texas - The No. 3 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (16-0, 6-0 WAC) defeated the SMU Mustangs (9-8, 3-4) 27-30, 30-27, 30-20 and 30-20 in front of a crowd of 1,440 at the Moody Coliseum Saturday.

Alicia Arnott came up huge, putting away a career-high 30 kills and 19 digs while hitting .463. Victoria Prince added 13 kills, six blocks and a .385 hitting percentage while Kanoe Kamana`o had 65 assists, 13 digs, three blocks and two aces. Susanne Boogaard had a double-double with 15 kills, 15 digs and three blocks while Tara Hittle had 10 kills, 11 digs and four blocks. Teisa Fotu led the way in the back court, finishing with a match-high 20 digs.

The Mustangs came out fired up, taking a 12-4 lead on a big seven-point run on the serve of Beth Karasek. Hawai`i finally got back into it as a quick 4-0 UH run cut the deficit to 19-18. The two teams traded points for a while before a big three-point SMU run put the Mustangs up 28-25. They were then able to sideout with the Rainbow Wahine, as a kill by Ashley Zener gave SMU the 30-27 game one victory. It was the first time during the season that UH lost a game one and the first game the Mustangs were able to take a game off Hawai`i since Nov. 12, 1999.

Hawai`i started off the second game well, jumping out to a 8-4 lead early. The Rainbow Wahine pushed their edge to 24-16 before the Mustangs went on a huge 9-3 run, cutting the UH advantage to 27-25. But the Rainbow Wahine had too much as Arnott's 16th kill of the match put away game two 30-27.

UH then really began to roll in the third game. With a 13-11 lead, Arnott had two quick kills that started what would be a 10-3 run that put the Rainbow Wahine up 23-14. Hawai`i kept it going throughout game three, eventually taking it 30-20 on a kill by Boogaard.

The Rainbow Wahine took a 10-5 edge early in game four before a big 7-1 SMU run gave the Mustangs the lead back at 12-11. But Hawai`i came right back, answering with a huge 10-1 run, capped by a Prince ace, making it 21-13. SMU wouldn't go away, as they went on a 12-3 run, taking back the lead at 25-24. But it would be Arnott's night to shine as she put away two kills in the final stretch, including the game-winner, pushing UH to a 30-27 game four victory.

The Rainbow Wahine will now head home for a couple of WAC matches at the Stan Sheriff Center vs. Rice on Thursday, Oct. 21, and vs. Tulsa on Friday, Oct. 22. Thursday's match vs. the Owls will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Stan Sheriff Center.

Match Statistics

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