Box Score

HONOLULU – The seventh-ranked University of Hawai'i women's volleyball team opened the season with a 3-0 sweep against Western Michigan, in the first match of the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational Friday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

 

The Rainbow Wahine came out strong and never looked back, beating the Broncos 25-17, 25-16, 25-14 in front of 5,995 fans. UH will face No. 25 Santa Clara on the second day of the invitational Saturday at 7 p.m. No. 9 UCLA faces Western Michigan at 5 p.m.

 

UH was led by sophomore Kanani Danielson, who recorded a match-high 16 kills and hit .467 for the match. Danielson also recorded eight digs and tied a career high with five blocks.

 

Senior Aneli Cubi-Otineru also had a strong season-opener, with nine kills, hitting .600 with no errors. Cubi-Otineru also added 14 digs and tied a career high with five aces. Stephanie Ferrell and Amber Kaufman each added seven kills and Dani Mafua had 37 assists and seven digs.

 

In the first set, UH showed a strong serve early, recording five aces out of the first seven points. Cubi-Otineru had three aces, while Kaufman had the first two. The Rainbow Wahine had a balanced attack, with Danielson and Ferrell each recorded four kills and Kaufman added three kills. Mafua set the balanced attack to a .300 hitting percentage, including Danielson, who hit .800.

 

After a quiet start in the second set, the Rainbow Wahine came on strong, as they hit .500 with 18 kills and no errors. Danielson led the way with eight kills and added six digs. Cubi-Otineru recorded five kills and four digs and Kaufman and Ferrell added two kills each. Mafua had 16 assists and six digs to lead the offensive attack.

 

UH jumped in front of Western Michigan in the third set and cruised to the victory. Danielson had four kills in the set and Alexis Forsythe came off the bench to record three kills and hit .750 with one block.

 

In the first match of the invitational, UCLA took a close first set 25-21, and went on to win the next two 25-16, 25-18. Dicey McGraw had a match-high 12 kills and hit .500, while Amanda Gil added seven kills and Katie Camp had six.

 

Santa Clara was led by Lindsy Davigeadono, who had eight kills. Krista Kelly had seven kills and Kayla Lommori added six kills.

 

UCLA will face Western Michigan in the first match of the day Saturday at 5 p.m. Santa Clara will face UH.