Box Score Box Score
HONOLULU - The No. 14 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (21-5, 13-1 WAC) defeated the No. 20 New Mexico State Aggies (29-2, 12-2) 30-16, 30-18, 24-30 and 30-23 in front of a crowd of 8,611 on senior night at the Stan Sheriff Center Sunday. With the win, UH took over first place in the WAC standings by themselves while avenging the loss at New Mexico State that ended their 114-match conference winning streak.
Senior Sarah Mason led the way for Hawai`i, posting 20 kills, 19 digs, four aces and a .457 hitting percentage. Jamie Houston added 24 kills, 15 digs and two aces while Kanoe Kamana`o had 46 assists, 11 digs, three kills and three blocks. Kamana`o eclipsed the 6,000-assist milestone in the match, becoming just the 21st player in NCAA history to do so. Kari Gregory led the blocking effort with a season-high 11 blocks with Amber Kaufman added a career-high six blocks. Jayme Lee added 15 digs and six assists out of the back row.
Hawai`i came out motivated and ready to prove they were still the leaders of the WAC, jumping out to a 13-4 early lead. UH kept it rolling the whole way with two aces by Mason ending the game 30-16. Gregory led a solid blocking effort in game one, chiming in on all six of UH's blocks in the game.
In game two, NMSU kept it a little closer early on, trailing by just four points at the media timeout. The Aggies got within three points on a couple occasions before a big 7-1 run late put Hawai`i ahead 27-17. After allowing one more point by the Aggies, the Rainbow Wahine scored the last three, taking game two 30-18.
New Mexico State used a 6-0 run in the middle of the third game to take control at 15-10. Hawai`i was never really able to get any closer, giving the Aggies game point at 29-21. After fighting off, three game points, UH succumbed to the Aggies 30-24.
Hawai`i jumped ahead at the start of game four, taking leads of 7-2 and 9-3. From there, the Rainbow Wahine never let NMSU back into the game. At 25-19, Houston served UH on a big 3-0 run that got them to 28-19. From there, it was inevitable, as Mason's 20th kill of the night ended game four 30-23 and the match at three games to one.
The team will now go on the road for their final two regular season matches at Boise State and Idaho on Nov. 15 and 17, before going to Reno, Nev., for the WAC Tournament.
-UH-
