HONOLULU – The No. 12 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team fell to the No. 1 Penn State Nittany Lions 25-21, 25-19, 25-19 in front of a crowd of 7,111 in the season-opener in the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center Friday.

 

Aneli Cubi-Otineru had a strong start to the season, hitting .350 with nine kills and three digs. Jamie Houston added eight kills while freshman Kanani Herring posted seven kills and five digs in her first collegiate match. Amber Kaufman hit .400 with four kills and two blocks in the middle. Tara Hittle played well at libero, ending up with a team-high 11 digs, while Dani Mafua set the UH offense with 24 assists and four digs.

 

The Rainbow Wahine took an early 4-2 edge to start set one. But Penn State stormed back, scoring the next five points to go ahead 7-4. The defending national champions increased its lead to 10-6 before a 5-2 run got UH within a point at 12-11. Hawai`i kept it close at 20-19, but the Nittany Lions had too much, taking the first set, 25-21.

 

Penn State came out firing in the second set, taking an early 10-4 lead. UH roared back to get it to 13-11, only to see PSU go on a 6-1 run, getting it to 22-15. The Rainbow Wahine kept fighting, but fell by a final of 25-19 in set two.

 

Hawai`i kept competing with the top-ranked Nittany Lions in the third set, as neither team held a lead of more than two points early on. UH worked their way into the lead at 12-11, but watched as Penn State ran off three-straight points to take back a 14-12 edge. The Rainbow Wahine kept it at 20-18, only to watch as PSU ran away, taking the third set 25-19.

 

UH hosts day two of the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic tomorrow, facing Ohio at approximately 7 p.m. That match will be preceded by No. 1 Penn State and No. 6 UCLA at 5 p.m.