HONOLULU – The University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team fell the Nebraska Cornhuskers 25-23, 25-23, 16-25 and 25-23 in an exhibition match in front of a crowd of 1,837 at the Stan Sheriff Center Thursday.

 

Amber Kaufman came up huge for UH, hitting .750 with 12 kills. Kanani Danielson added 15 kills and 16 digs while Jamie Houston had 10 kills. Dani Mafua provided 44 assists and 10 digs while Stephanie Brandt hit .417 with five kills, playing as a hitter in UH's makeshift lineup. Brittany Hewitt had five kills and five blocks at the net while Jayme Lee posted 11 digs.

 

Nebraska went ahead 4-2 to start the first set, only to see a 5-1 UH run give the Rainbow Wahine a 7-5 edge. Hawai`i got the lead to 15-11 before a 7-2 Cornhusker run gave UN back the lead at 18-17. A four-point Nebraska run made it 23-20. The Rainbow Wahine held off a couple set points before the Huskers took it 25-23.

 

The Cornhuskers jumped ahead 7-2 to start the second set. UN got it to 8-3 before a big 7-2 run by Hawai`i tied it at 10-10. It stayed tight until a late 4-1 Husker run got it to 20-17. A 3-0 Rainbow Wahine run tied it at 21-21. UH again tied it at 22-22 before Nebraska pulled it out 25-23.

 

Hawai`i jumped ahead 5-2 to start the third set, before Nebraska came back to tie it at 5-5. After a couple more ties, UH ran off eight of 10 points, pushing to a 15-9 advantage. The Rainbow Wahine made play after play defensively, racking up 21 team digs, including seven apiece by both Danielson and Lee, leading UH to a 25-16 third set win.

 

After going ahead 6-5 to start the fourth set, the Rainbow Wahine watched Nebraska score five of the next six points, going ahead 10-7. UN kept that lead until three-straight UH points tied it at 16-16. It stayed tight the rest of the way, with neither team taking a lead of more than two points. Hawai`i jumped ahead 23-21 before the Cornhuskers pulled away, scoring the final four points to take it 25-23.