Box Score Box Score

FRESNO, Calif. - The No. 6 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (11-0, 1-0 WAC) beat the Fresno State Bulldogs (8-6, 1-2 WAC) 30-17, 26-30, 30-27 and 30-23 in front of a crowd of 2,458 in UH's 2004 WAC opener at the Save Mart Center Thursday.

Tara Hittle had a career night for the Rainbow Wahine, hitting .625 with 22 kills, 10 digs and seven assists. Victoria Prince added 16 kills and six blocks while hitting .484, while Alicia Arnott (17 kills, 14 digs) and Susanne Boogaard (14 kills, 17 digs) both added double-doubles. Kanoe Kamana`o had another solid match with 63 assists, 16 digs and six blocks, while Ashley Watanabe led all players with 23 digs on the match.

Fresno State kept it close at the start of the first game, holding a 13-12 lead before UH went on a three-point run, on the strength of two Boogaard kills, taking a 15-13 lead into the media timeout. The Bulldogs then cut it down to a one-point deficit at 17-16 before a huge 10-point Rainbow Wahine run on the serve of Boogaard pushed Hawai`i to a 27-16 advantage. After giving up a point to the Bulldogs, UH put game one away 30-17.

The Bulldogs came back at the start of the second game, running out to a 9-5 edge, forcing a timeout by Dave Shoji. Fresno State continued to add to their lead, as a 3-0 run got it up to 14-7. Hawai`i would pull within four points on a couple of occasions before a big five-point FS run made it 25-16. The Rainbow Wahine responded with a big 8-2 run, cutting it to 27-24, but that would be as close as it got with Fresno State taking game two 30-26.

Hawai`i came out of the break firing as four quick kills by Hittle, on just five swings, pushed the Rainbow Wahine to an 8-4 advantage, forcing a Bulldog timeout. UH got it up to 13-6 before a big 7-2 run by Fresno State cut it to a 15-13 Hawai`i lead. The Rainbow Wahine got it to 25-17 on the strength of a four-point run on an ace by Boogaard and three Prince kills on the step-out. The Bulldogs then went on a 4-0 run of their own, cutting it to 25-21 and forcing a Shoji timeout. UH then was able to trade off points with the Bulldogs, getting to game point at 29-24, before taking game three 30-27.

Game four started out with the teams going back-and-forth as UH had a slight 15-13 edge at the media timeout. Hittle put away two-straight kills to cap a 6-3 run, making it 21-16, giving UH their largest lead of the game to that point. Fresno State was able to get within three points at 23-20 but it wasn't enough as a kill by Juliana Sanders put away the fourth game 30-23.

The Rainbow Wahine will fly over to Reno, Nev., for their match vs. Nevada on Saturday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. in UN's Virginia Street Gym, to close out their two-match road trip.

Match Statistics

-uh-