Box Score Box Score

HONOLULU - The No. 16 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (5-3, 2-0 WBM) came from behind to defeat the Wichita State Shockers (5-3, 1-1 WBM) 27-30, 28-30, 30-22, 30-19 and 15-12 in front of a crowd of 6,030 in the Waikiki Beach Marriott Volleyball Challenge at the Stan Sheriff Center Friday.

Jamie Houston posted 27 kills, 11 digs and four blocks to lead Hawai`i, while Aneli Cubi-Otineru had 22 kills and nine blocks. Elizabeth Ka`aihue had her second 30-dig match of the season while Amber Kaufman came off the bench to post a team-high nine blocks and five kills. Tara Hittle had 11 kills, 15 digs and five blocks with Juliana Sanders contributing eight kills and seven blocks.

After a back-and-forth start to the first game, Cubi-Otineru served UH on a four-point run to put the Rainbow Wahine ahead 15-11 at the media timeout. Wichita State battled back to tie the game at 17-17, only to see an ace by Houston cap a three-point run, giving Hawai`i the 20-17 edge. The Shockers were able to take the lead at 23-22, then extended the advantage to 28-25, forcing UH Head Coach Dave Shoji to use his final timeout. Hawai`i pulled back within a point at 28-27 on a kill by Hittle, but it wasn't enough as WSU scored the final two points of the game, taking it 30-27.

The Shockers carried that momentum into the second game, jumping ahead 15-11 at the media timeout. WSU was able to get their advantage to 22-16 before UH started to mount a comeback. Hawai`i ran off five of the next six points to get within two at 23-21. A kill by Sanders and a block by Sanders and Kaufman tied the score at 27-27. But the Shockers responded, scoring three of the final four points to win game two 30-28.

Hawai`i came out firing in game three, going on a 5-0 run on Kaufman's serve to pull ahead 13-7. The Rainbow Wahine were able to push their lead to 20-13 before a three-point WSU run cut it back to 20-16. But UH responded with a 6-2 run to get it up to 26-18 before eventually taking the game 30-22 on Cubi-Otineru's 16th kill of the match.

Hittle's short serve came up big in game four as UH ran off eight-straight points to go ahead 13-3. The Rainbow Wahine kept their lead between eight and 12 points the rest of the way, taking the fourth game by a convincing 30-19 score.

An early block by Sanders and Hittle put Hawai`i ahead 4-1 at the start of game five. After trading sideouts for the next few points, a big 5-2 UH run pushed their advantage to 13-7. The Rainbow Wahine got the first match point at 14-10, but a kill by Lindsey Eckenrode and a hitting error by Houston got it to 14-12, forcing a Shoji timeout. Out of the break, Hawai`i put it away as Houston slammed her 27th kill of the night, ending the match with a 15-12 game five victory.

The Rainbow Wahine conclude the Waikiki Beach Marriott Volleyball Challenge tomorrow at 7 p.m. vs. No. 19 Santa Clara. The Broncos defeated Eastern Washington in the early match of the day. The UH-SCU match will be preceded by the match between Wichita State and Eastern Washington at 5 p.m.

-UH-