Box Score

HONOLULU – The No. 6 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (24-3) swept through the Boise State Broncos (9-19) 25-15, 25-16 and 25-17 in front of a of 4,115 in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament at the Stan Sheriff Center Thursday.

 

The Rainbow Wahine had four players with double-digit kill totals, led by Kanani Danielson, who hit .476 with 12 kills, seven digs and three blocks. Jamie Houston added 12 kills, nine digs and three blocks while Aneli Cubi-Otineru hit .412 with 10 kills and 11 digs. Amber Kaufman hit .500 with 10 kills, two aces and two blocks, while Tara Hittle led all players with 17 digs.

 

Boise State started out well, holding the score to a 5-5 tie. But Hittle served Hawai`i on an eight-point run, pushing UH out to a 13-5 advantage. A three-point BSU run cut it back to 18-14. But Hawai`i picked it up in the end, scoring the last six points to take the first set 25-15.

 

The Broncos kept it tight again to start the second set, keeping the score tied at 10-10 early on. Hawai`i responded, scoring 10 of the next 11 points on the tough serves of Kaufman and Cubi-Otineru, to get its lead to 20-11. The Rainbow Wahine worked their way through the rest of the set, taking it 25-16.

 

Hawai`i spotted Boise State an 8-0 advantage on eight-straight errors by the Rainbow Wahine to start the third set. BSU got it up to 10-1 before UH went on a 7-1 run to cut it back to 11-8. Hawai`i later added a 6-1 run to tie the score at 14-14. In all, the Rainbow Wahine ended the night on a 24-6 run, taking the third set 25-17.

 

UH will face third-seeded Idaho tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in the Western Athletic Conference's semifinal match. That match will be preceded by the semifinal match between top-seeded New Mexico State and fifth-seeded San Jose State, starting at 5 p.m.