Box Score Box Score

RENO, Nev. - The No. 2 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (26-0) defeated the Nevada Wolf Pack (20-8) 30-21, 28-30, 30-22 and 30-27 to win their fifth-straight WAC Tournament title at the Virginia Street Gym Sunday.

Victoria Prince continued her amazing tournament with 16 kills, seven digs, two aces and a .577 hitting percentage. Susie Boogaard added 19 kills and 10 digs while Alicia Arnott had 17 kills, 11 digs and six blocks. Tara Hittle added 14 kills and a .310 hitting percentage while Ashley Watanabe broke the WAC Tournament record with five aces and 11 digs.

Hawai`i came out with an inspired effort at the start of game one, taking a 9-4 edge on an ace by Watanabe, forcing Nevada Head Coach Devin Scruggs to use an early timeout. The Rainbow Wahine continued their domination, as Boogaard put away five kills in a 14-4 UH run that made it 20-8. But the Wolf Pack would get their run as they reeled off 11 of the next 14 points to cut it to a 23-18 Hawai`i lead. But Boogaard again stepped up, putting away three more kills to start a 7-2 run that gave UH the match 30-21. The Rainbow Wahine hit a blistering .400 in game one to Nevada's .136.

Nevada turned it up to start the second game, jumping out to a 9-4 lead. The Pack got their edge as high as 20-11 before a huge 10-2 Hawai`i run, highlighted by four blocks by Prince, made it 22-21. After three-straight Nevada points, the Rainbow Wahine went on a 5-2 run, again pulling within a point at 27-26. An ace by Karen Adams gave Nevada game point at 29-26. Hawai`i was able to fight off one two game points with a kill by Hittle and a block by Prince and Hittle. But they fell one short as Karly Sipherd got a kill in the middle, ending it a 30-28.

Game three was a battle in the beginning. Nevada used a quick four-point run to go up 9-6, only to see UH score five straight to make it 11-9 in favor of the Rainbow Wahine. It was nip-and-tuck for a while as the teams forced an 18-18 tie. But that is when Hawai`i took over, as Watanabe served a 9-0 run, including two big aces, putting them up 27-18 before putting it away 30-22.

The Wolf Pack opened the fourth game with a 6-3. Nevada kept their slight edge at 12-10 before a big 6-0 run made it 16-12 in favor of Hawai`i. The Pack responded with a 5-1 run to tie it a 17 apiece. It was tight all the way, with a key four-point Hawai`i run pushing the Rainbow Wahine to a 26-21 lead. Nevada was able to hold off two championship points, but a UN service error ended it at 30-21.

UH will next head over to the state of Utah for two matches, at Utah State on Tuesday, Nov. 23, and at No. 19 Utah on Wednesday, Nov. 24, to close out the regular season. The Rainbow Wahine will then await the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, Nov. 28, at 2:40 p.m. Hawai`i time. It will be shown live on ESPNews.

All WAC Tournament Team
Christianna Reneau, Fresno State
Cameron Flunder, Boise State
Tessa Kuykendall, Rice
Alicia Arnott, Hawai`i
Tristin Adams, Nevada
Karly Sipherd, Nevada
Carly Sorensen, Nevada
Salaia Salavea, Nevada
Kanoe Kamana`o, Hawai`i
Ashley Watanabe, Hawai`i
Susie Boogaard, Hawai`i
Victoria Prince, Hawai`i (MVP)

Match Statistics

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