Box Score Box Score
HONOLULU - The No. 7 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (5-3, 3-0 WBM) defeated the No. 10 UCLA Bruins (5-1, 2-1 WBM) 24-30, 30-25, 30-24 and 30-26 to win the Waikiki Beach Marriott Volleyball Challenge Championship in front of a crowd of 8,499 at the Stan Sheriff Center Saturday.
Juliana Sanders hit .400 with 12 kills and a career-high seven blocks to lead UH. Jamie Houston had a team-high 17 kills while Victoria Prince had 11 kills and three blocks. Sarah Mason added 14 kills, eight digs and two aces in her first start since spraining her ankle in the season-opener. Tara Hittle and Ashley Watanabe led the way in the back row with 12 and 11 digs, respectively.
UCLA came out and took control of game one early on. They took a 4-1 lead right away, then pushed it to 19-11 on the strength of a 6-1 run. Hawai`i responded with four-straight points on the serve of Prince, but never really got back into it, falling 30-24.
The Rainbow Wahine turned it around to start the second game, opening up a 9-5 lead that forced UCLA Head Coach Andy Banachowski to call a timeout. The Bruins pulled within a point at 15-14 and held it tight at 26-24. But then Mason took over, putting away three straight kills, pushing UH to game point before taking it on an over-reach call on the Bruins.
Hawai`i started out hot again in the third game as an ace by Kanoe Kamana`o capped a 4-0 run that put UH up 6-2. They got it to 9-4 before UCLA got back to tie it at 13. But Hawai`i then turned the tide back in their favor. Sanders recorded two-straight blocks to get it to 25-20 before a service error by the Bruins gave the Rainbow Wahine the 30-24 game three victory.
Game four was nip-and-tuck as there were 15 ties, getting the score to 20-20. Hawai`i then made their push, scoring seven of the next eight points to make it 27-21. UCLA made a small run at the end to cut the deficit to 28-26. But a Bruin service error and an ace by Susie Boogaard finished it off at 30-26.
Hawai`i will next host the No. 2 Washington Huskies for two matches on Sept. 16 and 17, at 7 and 6 p.m., respectivley.
All-Tournament Team
Darla Donaldson, CSUN
Kanoe Kamana`o, Hawai`i
Nana Meriwether, UCLA
Victoria Prince, Hawai`i (MVP)
Juliana Sanders
Kaitlin Sather, UCLA
Melissa Zenz, Cincinnati
Match Statistics
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