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HONOLULU - The No. 16 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (3-3, 2-1 HAL) fell to the No. 5 UCLA Bruins (3-1, 2-0 HAL) 29-31, 18-30 and 16-30 in front of a crowd of 7,249 in the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic championship match at the Stan Sheriff Center Monday.

Tara Hittle led Hawai`i, posting 11 kills and five digs. Aneli Cubi-Otineru added 10 kills and three blocks while Jamie Houston had eight kills and four blocks. Kari Gregory also added four blocks with Stephanie Brandt posting 23 assists and 10 digs.

The Bruins came out firing, taking an 8-2 lead to start the first game, forcing an early timeout by UH Head Coach Dave Shoji. UCLA got their advantage up to 14-7 before the Rainbow Wahine started their comeback. Kills by Hittle and Cubi-Otineru cut UH's deficit to 18-16. UH then used a 4-1 run to get it to 25-24. A big block by Juliana Sanders and Cubi-Otineru tied the score at 27-27. The two teams then traded sideouts, before back-to-back kills by Kaitlin Sather ended the game 31-29.

UCLA again jumped ahead to start the second game, taking a 15-6 advantage after seven-point run on the serve of Kaitlin Sather. UCLA eventually got their lead to 19-8 before Hawai`i finally started to show some life. UH would only be able to cut the deficit to nine points before the Bruins put it away, 30-18.

The Bruins continued to dominate in game three, using a 9-1 run to go ahead 16-6. UCLA then put it in cruise control, taking game three 30-16 to win the classic title.

The Rainbow Wahine will next host the Waikiki Beach Marriott Wahine Challenge from Sept. 6-8 at the Stan Sheriff Center. UH opens with Eastern Washington at 7 p.m. on Sept. 6, followed by matches with Wichita State and No. 19 Santa Clara.

 

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