Box Score Box Score

RENO, Nev. - The No. 2 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (25-0) survived a scare from the Fresno State Bulldogs (15-13) 30-24, 25-30, 30-25 and 30-21 in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal match at the Virginia Street Gym Saturday, advancing to the tournament final tomorrow. Hawai`i has advanced to the final in every WAC Tournament and have won the last four.

Victoria Prince again had a huge night, hitting .613 with a match-high 20 kills and five blocks. Alicia Arnott added 19 kills and 15 while Kanoe Kamana`o added 56 assists and three blocks. Susanne Boogaard added 13 kills, 10 digs and four blocks while Ashley Watanabe added 20 digs and two aces in the back row.

Fresno State was clicking early on, jumping out to a 5-1 edge to start the first game. But the Rainbow Wahine slowly fought their way back, as Prince had two kills, a block and an ace in a 5-1 UH run, giving Hawai`i their first lead at 14-13. The Bulldogs stayed within one for a while, before a big 8-0 run that forced Fresno State to fall behind 25-16 and use both of their timeouts. The Bulldogs went on a couple of small runs to make it interesting, but Hawai`i had too much, taking game one 30-24.

The Bulldogs again jumped out early, holding leads of 5-2 and 13-7. Kamana`o led the Rainbow Wahine back, scoring four-straight points on her serve, including two aces, to cut the FS advantage back to 13-11. Hawai`i got within a point on a couple occasions, but a big four-point Bulldog run put them up 23-18. Fresno State kept their stronghold the rest of the way, putting a block away to take the second game 30-25.

Hawai`i again fell behind at the start of the third game, as an 8-2 Bulldog run made it 19-11. But that was when the Rainbow Wahine finally woke up, going on a huge 11-1 run to give themselves their first lead at 22-20. UH continued their great comeback for the rest of the game, putting away big hit after big hit, taking game three 30-25.

After their big comeback in game three, it was all-downhill for the Rainbow Wahine. They opened the fourth game with an 8-5 edge and were up 19-15. But that was as close as Fresno State got in game four, as Hawai`i closed the match with a 10-5 run, putting it away 30-21.

Christianna Reneau led the Bulldog attack with 20 kills and 10 digs while Tuli Peters added 17 kills. Mounia Nihipali and Yuko Mori had 17 digs apiece in the back row.

UH awaits the winner of the Nevada-Rice match in the WAC Tournament final tomorrow at 3 p.m. PST. The match will be televised nationally on CSTV.

Match Statistics

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