Box Score Box Score

HONOLULU - The No. 7 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (8-0, 2-0 WBM) defeated the UC Irvine Anteaters (7-1, 0-1 WBM) 30-27, 28-30, 30-28 and 30-17 in front of a crowd of 6,926 to clinch the Waikiki Beach Marriott Invitational title at the Stan Sheriff Center Saturday.

Susie Boogaard led the way for UH, putting away 21 kills and 20 digs. Alicia Arnott added 19 kills, 15 digs, three blocks and three aces, while Victoria Prince added 12 kills and four blocks. Juliana Sanders came off the bench to have a career match, putting down 10 kills while hitting .474, while Kanoe Kamana`o continued to play great, all around, ending the match with 61 assists, 11 digs, four blocks and three kills.

The first game started out tight, with neither team holding a lead of more than three points. With the game tied at 25-25, UH Head Coach Dave Shoji took a timeout. The teams then traded two-point runs before a UC Irvine hitting error ended a 3-0 Hawai`i run that gave the Rainbow Wahine the 30-27 game one victory.

UCI opened the second game with a 3-0 lead before a big 6-2 Hawai`i run gave the Rainbow Wahine the lead at 6-5. The teams traded points until a 3-1 Anteater run put them ahead 15-13 at the media timeout. UCI continued to hold a slight lead, until a late three-point run put them up 25-21, forcing a timeout by Shoji. A 3-1 Rainbow Wahine run cut it back to a two-point deficit, with UC Irvine getting to game point at 29-27. Hawai`i stopped UCI once, but the Anteaters refused to give in, taking the second game 30-28 on a big double block.

Game three again started out close as it took a big three-point run for the Rainbow Wahine to hold a 15-11 lead at the media timeout. Hawai`i was able to push their edge to 19-13 before UCI fought back, cutting it to 20-16 to force a Shoji timeout. The teams then traded small runs with the Anteaters tying it up at 28 on a four-point run. UH then put it away, scoring the final two points on a kill by Sanders and a double-block by Teisa Fotu and Prince, to take game three 30-28.

Arnott and Sanders started off the UH offense in game four, as they had two and three kills, respectively, as Hawai`i opened with a 6-4 advantage. The rest of the Rainbow Wahine continued firing away, pushing their lead to 14-5, forcing UCI Head Coach Charlie Brande to use his second timeout early. Hawai`i kept it clicking, pushing their lead to 21-9 before a big 5-0 UCI run on the serve of Kelly Wing cut the deficit to 21-14, forcing a Shoji timeout. But that was as close as the Anteaters would make it, as UH reeled off seven-straight points out of the break before taking game four by the final score of 30-17.

Hawai`i will close out their early season non-conference run with two matches against No. 18 Pepperdine on Friday, Sept. 24, and Saturday, Sept. 25. The Waikiki Beach Marriott Invitational will finish tomorrow with UC Irvine playing California for second place at 3 p.m.

match statistics

In the Invitational finale, No. 14 California swept through UC Irvine.

All-Tournament Team
Ashlie Hain, UC Irvine
Amanda Vasquez, UC Irvine
Camille Leffall, Cal
Angie Pressey, Cal
Alicia Arnott, Hawai`i
Kanoe Kamana`o, Hawai`i
Susie Boogaard (MOP), Hawai`i

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