RUSTON, La. – The No. 7 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (10-2, 3-0 WAC) swept through the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (2-8, 0-3) 25-11, 25-20 and 25-16 at the Thomas Assembly Center Thursday.

 

Jamie Houston led the Rainbow Wahine attack, hitting .341 with 21 kills and 11 digs. Stephanie Ferrell added eight kills while hitting .583 with five digs while Amber Kaufman hit .417 with seven kills, four blocks and two aces. Aneli Cubi-Otineru added five kills, four digs and three blocks while hitting .400 in just two sets. Tara Hittle led all players with 13 digs with Dani Mafua setting UH's offense with 30 assists.

 

Hawai`i opened the match on fire, scoring the first 10 points of the set on the tough serve of Kaufman. Ferrell later served a six-point run before a block by Houston and Nickie Thomas ended the first set 25-11.

 

Kaufman again got UH started well behind the service line to start the second set as they went ahead 5-1. The Rainbow Wahine got their lead to 12-4 on a big block by Kaufman and Mafua, forcing a timeout by Louisiana Tech. A 3-0 run by Tech pulled it back to 14-8. The Lady Techsters then pulled within two points at 16-14 after a four-point run. But Hawai`i had the response, scoring the next four points to make it 20-14. From there, UH just sided-out its way to victory, taking the second set 25-20.

 

The Rainbow Wahine opened the third set with a 5-1 edge. After Tech closed to within three at 7-4, UH used a three-point run to get it to 10-4. Hawai`i kept its lead around six points before a 5-1 run ended the set, and the match, 25-16.

 

The Rainbow Wahine will continue the road trip, heading next to New Mexico State for a 3 p.m. (11 a.m. HT) match on Saturday, Sept. 27. They will then face San Jose State on Monday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m. (4 p.m. HT), to conclude the trip.