Box Score Box Score

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The No. 11 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (13-5, 7-1 WAC) fell to the No. 25 New Mexico State Aggies (21-1, 5-1) 30-22, 28-30, 30-27, 24-30 and 13-15 in front of a crowd of 2,803 at the Las Cruces High School gym, ending UH's 114-match WAC winning streak.

Jamie Houston led all players, posting 26 kills and four blocks. Juliana Sanders hit .308 with 11 kills and five blocks while Kanoe Kamana`o had 59 assists, 17 digs and five blocks. Sarah Mason posted 13 kills, 14 digs and five blocks. Kari Gregory had eight kills and eight blocks while Amber Kaufman hit .467 with eight kills. Jayme Lee added 15 digs while Raeceen Woolford had 10.

Hawai`i started the match on fire, taking leads of 5-1 and 10-3 early in game one. NMSU put up a 3-0 run, only to see the Rainbow Wahine score four straight, making it 14-6. The Aggies would get back within four on a couple occasions before UH ran off with four-straight on the serve of Mason to take game one 30-22.

New Mexico State opened the second game with three-straight points. UH responded with a 5-1 run to take the lead, only to see the Aggies go on a 6-1 spurt, going ahead 10-6 to force a Rainbow Wahine timeout. Hawai`i then made their run, scoring four-straight to get back within one at 13-12. After trading a couple small runs, UH used a 3-0 run to tie it at 17-17. The two teams traded the lead, back-and-forth, with a big 4-1 UH run putting them ahead 22-21. After exchanging sideouts, kills by Houston and Mason gave Hawai`i control, 28-25. But Amber Simpson got NMSU back into it, putting away three-straight kills to tie it at 28 before an untimely ball handling error and an Aggie ace ended game two, 30-28.

The Rainbow Wahine scored the first three points of game three. But a five-point NMSU run put the Aggies ahead 6-4. They kept the lead until a 3-0 run, capped by back-to-back blocks by the Rainbow Wahine gave Hawai`i the 11-10 edge. It stayed tight from then on, as a kill by Kaufman and a block by Kaufman and Gregory gave UH its biggest lead at 27-24. From there, the Rainbow Wahine were able to side out, taking game three 30-27 on a kill by Houston.

UH looked poise to take the match in four games, taking leads of 5-1 and 9-2 early on. New Mexico State cut it back to 12-9 and 15-13, only to see a 5-0 Hawai`i run put them ahead 20-13. But the Aggies wouldn't go away. They went on a five-point run to cut it back to 20-18 before going on the run that changed the match. Down 23-19, NMSU scored 11 of the next 12 points, including the last eight of the game, taking it 30-24.

The Aggies carried their momentum into game five, taking early leads of 4-1 and 7-2. But Hawai`i was not ready to let their notorious streak end that easily, scoring the next five points, capped by a backrow kill by Mason, tying it at 7-7. The two teams traded sideouts, getting to a 11-11 tie. But it was New Mexico State's night, as they scored three-straight to get to match point at 14-11. UH was able to hold it off for two points before Anna Callis put away the match and streak-ending kill, giving NMSU the 15-13 game five victory.

The Rainbow Wahine will return home and get right back on the court, for two matches vs. Notre Dame on Monday, Oct. 15, and Tuesday, Oct. 16. Monday's match will start at 7 p.m. while Tuesday's match has been moved to 6 p.m., both at the Stan Sheriff Center.

-UH-