Box Score Box Score

RENO, Nev. - The No. 12 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (24-5) swept through the Fresno State Bulldogs (6-24) 30-16, 30-17 and 30-25 in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament at the Lawlor Event Center Wednesday. The match lasted just one hour and five minutes, the shortest match in WAC Tournament history.

Sarah Mason led the way, hitting .433 with 15 kills and 14 digs. Jamie Houston added 16 kills while Kari Gregory had seven kills and nine blocks. Kanoe Kamana`o ended the night with 39 assists, 10 digs and four blocks (one solo and three assists). Her three block assists put the senior past former UH All-American middle Heather Bown for fifth on the all-time block assists list with 374. Elise Duggins and Jayme Lee played well in the back row, posting 10 and nine digs, respectively.

Hawai`i jumped on the Bulldogs early in the first game, as two-straight blocks by Gregory and Amber Kaufman got UH to an 8-3 edge. Fresno State brought it back to 12-11 before the Rainbow Wahine ran off a huge 11-1 run, putting them ahead 23-12. Hawai`i got it to 28-14 before taking the game 30-16. UH had six blocks in the first game including five by Gregory.

After a 2-2 start in game two, UH ran off nine of the next 11 points to go ahead 11-4. Fresno State pulled within four at 17-13, only to see Hawai`i go on a 7-2 run make it 24-15. The Rainbow Wahine took over in the end, scoring the final five points to take game two 30-17, on a kill by reserve middle Caroline Blood.

The Bulldogs came out in game three looking like a team that wasn't willing to see their season come to an end. After allowing UH a 15-14 edge at the media timeout, Fresno State scored three in a row, taking a lead at 17-15. The Bulldogs got it to 23-20 before Hawai`i took over. Gregory served the Rainbow Wahine on a 8-0 run, giving UH a comfortable 28-23 lead. After a couple of Bulldog points, Hawai`i put it away with a dump by Kamana`o and a kill by Houston, ending it 30-25.

The Rainbow Wahine advance to the semifinals tomorrow, where they will face the No. 5 seed San Jose State at 7:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m. HST).

-UH-