Box Score Box Score

HONOLULU - The No. 4 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (2-3, 2-1 HAL) defeated the Western Michigan Broncos (2-3, 0-3 HAL) 30-27, 28-30, 30-18 and 30-24 in front of a crowd of 6,588 in the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic finale at the Stan Sheriff Center Sunday, clinching second place.

Jamie Houston led the way with 22 kills and a .405 hitting percentage. Victoria Prince hit .478 with 13 kills and four blocks while Susie Boogaard had 17 kills and 11 digs. Kanoe Kamana`o added 66 assists and 15 digs, while Cayley Thurlby hit .333 with nine kills and eight assists.

Western Michigan took an early 4-1 lead in game one and stayed ahead all the way until UH forced a tie at 17-17. The teams traded sideouts for a few points before UH ran off a quick 3-0 run to go up 25-22 and force a Bronco timeout. WMU pulled within a point at 25-22 before UH scored four of the next five points to get to game point at 29-25. The Broncos held it off for two points before Hawai`i ended it at 30-27 with a kill by Juliana Sanders.

The Broncos again held a big lead at the start of game two, getting it to 19-13 at one point. But UH whittled away, tying the score at 24. The teams traded points to get to 28-28, as a kill by Schea Fissel and a hitting error by UH ended it at 30-28.

Hawai`i played inspired volleyball the rest of the way. Prince served a 5-0 UH run to get them up 5-2 early on in game three. The Rainbow Wahine saw their lead get to 19-11 before WMU mounted a comeback, scoring seven of the next eight points to get it to 20-18. But that was when UH turned it on, scoring the final 10 points of the game on the serve of Thurlby to take the game 30-18.

In game four, the Rainbow Wahine used an early 4-1 run to go up 10-7 and never really looked back. WMU pulled within a point at 23-22 before a big six-point run gave UH match point at 29-22. WMU was able to hold off the Rainbow Wahine for two points before Kari Gregory put away her seventh kill to win the game at 30-24.

Two UH players, Prince and Kamana`o, were named to the All-Tournament team along with WMU's Shaylen Jackson, USC's Bibiana Candelas, Penn State's Nicole Fawcett, Christa Harmotto and Sam Tortorello, who was named the Most Outstanding Player.

Hawai`i returns to action on Thursday, Sept. 8, for the Waikiki Beach Marriott Wahine Volleyball Challenge, with a 7 p.m. match vs. Cincinnati. The match will be preceded by a match between Cal State Northridge and UCLA at 4:30 p.m.

Match Statistics

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