Box Score Box Score

RENO, Nev. - The No. 8 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (24-6) won a tough match over the Nevada Wolf Pack (18-12) 30-19, 22-30, 30-28 and 33-31 in the semifinals of the Western Atheltic Conference Tournament at the Lawlor Events Center Friday, to advance to the championship match vs. Utah State tomorrow.

Victoria Prince led UH, hitting .469 with 18 kills. Sarah Mason came off the bench to hit .538 with seven kills, four digs and two blocks. Jamie Houston ended the night with 12 kills while Tara Hittle added 10 kills and eight digs. Juliana Sander had eight kills and eight blocks and Susie Boogaard added eight kills, 17 digs and three blocks.

Kanoe Kamana`o ended the match with 59 assists, adding to her UH career leading total. Ashley Watanabe had 14 digs, pushing her season total to 415, just 22 shy of the UH singl-season record.

Nevada held their own at the start of game one, holding a 10-9 edge on a dump by Tristen Johnson. But a quick 6-0 run by the Rainbow Wahine on the serve of Kamana`o gave Hawai`i a 15-10 lead. A kill by Sanders got it to 17-12, only to see the Wolf Pack go on a four-point run and cut it back to 17-16 and force a timeout by Dave Shoji. UH responded out of the timeout, going on a 10-1 run that made it 27-17. From there, it wouldn't take long as Kamana`o served up an ace to close it 30-19.

The Pack got out to a 7-4 lead to start the second game. The teams proceeded to trade small runs with Nevada holding a 15-13 lead on a kill by Salaia Salave`a heading into the media timeout. UH used a three-point run to get the lead back at 18-17 before Nevada opened it up with a 7-1 run that gave them a 24-19 advantage. Nevada just continued to roll, closing the game at 30-22 on a Salave`a's seventh kill of the game.

Hawai`i again found themselves behind at the start of the third game, 5-2, but a big four-point run, capped by a block by Prince and Kamana`o, put UH up 10-9. After trading points for a while, the Rainbow Wahine put up a 5-0 run to push their lead to 20-14. The teams again traded sideouts for a while with Hawai`i getting to game point at 29-25. But Karly Sipherd responded, putting away three-straight kills to pull within one at 29-28, forcing a Shoji timeout. UH went back to Houston out of the break, as she pounded one through the block, giving the Rainbow Wahine the 30-28 game three victory.

After a couple of kills by Houston got Hawai`i ahead 2-1 in the fourth, Nevada reeled off eight-straight points, putting them ahead 9-2. The Rainbow Wahine whittled away at it, getting it down to 14-11 and then 17-15 on an ace by Hittle. From there it was a battle. Hawai`i got within a point on a few occasions, finally tying the score at 27-27 on two blocks by Sanders and Mason. A kill by Allison Hernandez gave UN their first game point at 29-28. But Hittle put away a big kill to fight it off. In all, UH faught off three game points before Prince put the team on her shoulders, getting a block and a kill that ended game four 33-31.

The Rainbow Wahine will face Utah State in the WAC Championship match tomorrow, marking the teams' third meeting this season. UH swept USU in Honolulu, but had to come back to take the Aggies in five game in Logan, Utah. The match will start at 5 p.m. (3 p.m. HST), and will be aired nationally on CSTV.

Match Statistics

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