Box Score Box Score

HONOLULU - The No. 10 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (1-1) defeated the Colorado State Rams (0-2) 30-21, 22-30, 27-30, 30-25 and 15-13 in front of a crowd of 6,600 in the ASICS Rainbow Wahine Invitational at the Stan Sheriff Center Saturday.

Jamie Houston became the 15th player in UH history to post 1,000 career kills as the junior had 23 kills, eight digs and two solo blocks. Juliana Sanders added a .688 hitting percentage with 12 kills and five blocks while Amber Kaufman hit .450 with 12 kills and five blocks in just four games. Tara Hittle and Jayme Lee led the way defensively, posting 15 and 13 kills, respectively.

Hawai`i came out hot in the first game as Stephanie Brandt, who ended the night with 63 assists, served an eight-point run to give UH a 17-8 advantage. CSU was never able to get the margin to less than seven points the rest of the way, giving the Rainbow Wahine the 30-21 game one victory.

The Rams turned the tables in game two, jumping out to an 8-1 edge early on. CSU got their lead as high as 12 points at 23-11, before the 'Bows mounted a small comeback, getting it to 25-18 on back-to-back kills by Houston. But the Rams' lead was too big, taking the second game 30-22.

CSU again jumped out early in game three as a 6-1 run put them ahead 16-11. Back-to-back blocks by Kaufman and Sanders cut it back to 16-14 before UH tied the score at 19-19. But that just set up another timely run of 7-2, pushing CSU to a 26-21 edge. Hawai`i forced a timeout after getting within two at 27-25, but it wasn't enough as the Rams took game three, 30-27.

The Rainbow Wahine came out determined not to fall to 0-2 on the season at the start of game four, using a 5-1 run to take a 13-8 edge. The 'Bows eventually got it to 19-12 and 23-16 before CSU made a run to get back into the game. A quick three-point run got the Rams within four points, with a run of 4-0 making it 27-25, the closest it had been since 10-8. But UH pulled through as Hittle had a backrow kill that was sandwiched by two kills by Kaufman, ending game four 30-25.

Game five was a back-and-forth battle that saw nine ties and eight lead changes. The margin stayed within a point until a 3-0 run on Hittle's serve put UH ahead 13-11. Mekana Barnes, who finished the night with 21 kills and 10 blocks, pulled CSU within one with a kill. But Kaufman responded with her 12th kill of the match to give UH match point at 14-12. Another Barnes kill held off the Hawai`i victory until Sanders put away the final point, giving the Rainbow Wahine the 15-13 game five victory.

Hawai`i will close out the ASICS Rainbow Wahine Invitational tomorrow with a 5 p.m. match vs. Oregon State at the Stan Sheriff Center. Michigan will play Colorado State in the first match of the day at 3 p.m.

-UH-