Box Score Box Score

HONOLULU - The No. 7 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (3-3, 1-0 WBM) defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats (1-3, 0-1 WBM) 30-21, 30-17 and 30-22 in front of a crowd of 6,251 in the Waikiki Beach Marriott Volleyball Challenge at the Stan Sheriff Center Thursday.

Susie Boogaard led the way, racking up 15 kills and 13 digs while hitting. 371. Jamie Houston had had nine kills and two blocks, while Victoria Prince put away six kills and four blocks. Kanoe Kamana`o continued her solid play with 46 assists, 12 digs and three blocks while Tara Hittle had 10 digs in two games at libero.

After falling behind 5-4 to start the first game, UH reeled off five-straight points to go up 9-5 and force a Cincinnati timeout. The Bearcats tied it at 10 with a 5-1 run. But Hawai`i just had too much for Cincinnati, holding the Bearcats to a .000 hitting percentage while finishing with six team blocks in the 30-21 game one victory.

Hawai`i was even more dominant in the second game. After allowing the Bearcats to come back and tie the game at nine, UH ripped off 11 of the next 14 points to go up 20-12 and force a UC timeout. The Rainbow Wahine continued to force the action throughout with Jessica Keefe putting away a kill to give UH the game two victory, 30-17.

UH Head Coach Dave Shoji unloaded the bench for game three and the subs responded. Nickie Thomas had three kills and three blocks while hitting .750 while Kari Gregory hit .667 with four kills and three blocks in just one game. The highlight came as senior Ashley Watanabe recorded her first collegiate kill in four years with the Rainbow Wahine. Hawai`i cruised to a 30-22 win in game three.

The Rainbow Wahine will face Cal State Northridge in the challenge tomorrow night at 7 p.m., preceded by a match between No. 10 UCLA and Cincinnati.

Match Statistics

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