Box Score Box Score

HONOLULU - The No. 11 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (25-5) defeated the Loyola Marymount Lions (16-12) 27-30, 30-28, 30-24 and in front of a crowd of 5,812 at the Stan Sheriff Center Tuesday.

Jamie Houston hit .339 with 25 kills to lead UH. Juliana Sanders added 12 kills with a .579 hitting percentage while Aneli Cubi-Otineru had 18 kills and 13 digs. Tara Hittle and Elizabeth Ka`aihue led the defensive effort with 20 digs apiece. Hittle also added nine kills and three blocks while Jayme Lee came in to throw in 10 digs. Stephanie Brandt ended up with 48 assists and four blocks.

The first game was highly contested, as there were nine ties and three lead changes. The Lions broke a 12-12 tie with a three-point run, making it 15-12 at the media timeout. A 4-1 spurt by the 'Bows tied it at 16-16. But that would be UH's last tie as a 3-0 LMU run got it to 19-16. Hawai`i never got closer than a two-point deficit as the Lions closed it out 30-27.

After falling back 7-4 to start game two, UH scored three-straight to tie it at 7-7. A 9-3 Hawai`i run gave them a 18-14 edge. But LMU came back, taking a late 26-25 edge before the Rainbow Wahine ran off three-straight points to go ahead 28-26. UH was then able to just side out to take the game 30-28.

LMU came out firing in game three, taking a lead of 8-4 early. But UH battled back with a bunch of small runs, tying it at 15-15. Cubi-Otineru served a six-point run that started on three Houston kills, pushing UH to a 24-19 edge. Hawai`i got their lead to 28-22 before finishing off game three, 30-24.

Game four saw eight early ties, the last of which was at 13-13. But Hawai`i then broke out, scoring five in a row to take a 18-13 advantage, and never look back. UH got their lead to 28-16, on a six-point run that included three big blocks by Kari Gregory, before ending it 30-17.

The two teams will play again tomorrow to close out their regular seasons at 7 p.m. Tomorrow's match will also serve at UH's Senior Night, honoring Sanders, Gregory, Caroline Blood and Raeceen Woolford after the match.

-UH-