Box Score Box Score

HONOLULU - The No. 7 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (3-2, 1-2 HAL) fell to the No. 10 UCLA Bruins (6-0, 3-0) 30-19, 30-26 and 30-24 in front of a crowd of 7,793 at the Stan Sheriff Center, giving the Bruins the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic title Sunday.

Kari Gregory hit .450 with 10 kills and five blocks while Jamie Houston posted 14 kills to lead the team. Juliana Sanders added six kills, four blocks and .429 hitting percentage while Kanoe Kamana`o hit .571 with five kills, 39 assists and four digs.

UCLA came out firing in game one, using runs of 5-1 and 10-1 to take a 16-7 lead. The Bruins got their lead to 23-12 before eventually taking it 30-19.

Hawai`i responded in the second game, scoring the first three points. But UCLA responded with a four-point run of their own to take a 4-3 edge. The Bruins got it to 12-7 before the Rainbow Wahine made a push. UH forced a tie at 21 before two kills by Houston and a kill by Sanders propelled the 'Bows to a 24-23 advantage. But UCLA came back with a four-point run to take a 27-24 lead. From there the Bruins just had to side out to take game two 30-26.

UCLA looked primed to close it out at the start of game three, taking an early 6-2 lead. But UH batted back to tie it at 7-7, then take their first lead of the game at 12-11, forcing a Bruin timeout. The game stayed tight with a block by Gregory and Sarah Mason bringing the Rainbow Wahine within a point at 23-22. But UCLA had another run in them, reeling off three big points to take a 26-22 edge. UCLA sided out to get to match point before a kill by Kaitlin Sather ended the game at 30-24.

The Rainbow Wahine will look to regroup in the Waikiki Beach Marriott Challenge next week, hosting Fairfield, Northwestern and Stanford on Sept. 7, 8 and 9.

All-Tournament Team
Nellie Spicer, UCLA
Tara Hittle, Hawai`i
Katie Carter, UCLA
Alex Buth, Colorado
Marcie Hampton, Florida
Angie McGinnis, Florida
Nana Meriwether, UCLA (MOP)

-UH-