Box Score Box Score

MOSCOW, Idaho - In a matchup that featured Jamie Houston and Haley Larson, two of the top attackers in the country, the No. 12 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (15-3, 9-0 WAC) swept through the Idaho Vandals (9-10, 5-3) 30-25, 30-26 and 30-21 in front of a crowd of 832 at Memorial Gym Saturday.

Juliana Sanders made the difference for the Rainbow Wahine, hitting .455 with 12 kills and eight blocks. Houston had 15 kills, 20 digs and three aces while Aneli Cubi-Otineru put up 10 kills. Elizabeth Ka`aihue and Tara Hittle helped UH's floor defense with 13 and 12 digs, respectively, pushing the team to 66 digs on the match. Stephanie Brandt had another solid match, posting 42 assists, 14 digs and four blocks.

The Vandals opened game one by taking a 6-2 lead. Hawai`i took control in the middle of the game, scoring 11-straight points of the serve of Amber Kaufman to get it to 21-11. The Rainbow Wahine were able to push their lead as high as 28-16. Idaho wouldn't go away as they ran off nine-straight points, cutting their deficit back to 28-25. But UH had too much as kills by Cubi-Otineru and Houston ended game one 30-25.

After trailing 9-6 at the start of game two, but a 5-1 run capped a Hawai`i comeback that put them ahead 17-13. UH kept that cushion until a late Idaho run cut it back to 22-21. But that was as close as the Vandals would get, with UH taking the second game 30-26.

The Rainbow Wahine opened a 9-3 lead early in game three. UH later used an 8-1 run to make it 21-11 before eventually taking it 30-21.

Hawai`i will now head to Logan, Utah, to conclude their road trip vs. Utah State at 7 p.m. (3 p.m. HST) on Monday, Oct. 15.

-UH-