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HONOLULU – Emily Hartong bashed 21 kills, Sarah Mendoza had a career-high 12 digs, and the No. 13 University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team beat Long Beach State in four sets (25-27, 25-19, 25-18, 25-22) on Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. The 'Bows improved to 18-4 overall and 7-3 in the Big West Conference while the 49ers dropped to 12-10 and 5-4 in league play.
 
Nikki Taylor had a solid all around match, posting 12 kills while hitting a match-high .440 and recording eight digs and seven blocks. Jade Vorster added a match-high eight blocks for the 'Bows who had six more team stuffs than Long Beach State.
 
Delainey Aigner-Swesey had 15 kills and 15 digs to lead the 49ers who staved off four UH set points to steal set one. Alex Reid had 12 kills and 12 digs and Haleigh Hampton added six blocks.
 
Long Beach State closed set one on a 7-1 run to stun the Stan Sheriff Center crowd. The 'Bows led 24-20 before the 49ers rallied to take what was a sure victory from the 'Bows. A Taylor kill gave UH a 10-8 lead earlier in the set, and a Hartong kill extended the advantage to 12-9 forcing a 49er timeout. With the 'Bows poised to nail down a set one win, a pair of blocks by Chisom Okpala (9 kills) and a series of UH errors down stretch allowed the 49ers to rally for the win.
 
Set two saw the 'Bows pull away midway through to even the match. UH went on a 7-2 run spearheaded by a pair of kills each by Hartong and Tai Manu-Olevao (11 kills, 5 digs). The lead continued to swell as block assists by Vorster and Mita Uiato pushed the advantage to 19-12. LBSU cut the lead to 20-18 but an Ashley Kastl kill stemmed the tide as the 'Bows cruised to the win.
 
Hawai'i returned from the locker room after the break and took care of business in winning the next two sets. The 'Bows scored the first four points of the third set before opening up an 11-4 lead off a pair of Hartong kills. The lead swelled to 14-6 before Manu-Olevao put another rally bid to bed with a kill to end the set. The 'Bows trailed  most of set four before a pair of blocks and a Kalei Adolpho (7 kills, 6 blocks) kill helped her team rally and clinch the match win.
 
The 'Bows return to action next week when they travel to Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara for a pair of Big West matches.