HONOLULU – The No. 5 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (11-1, 1-0 WAC) swept through the Utah State Aggies (12-2, 0-1) 26-24, 25-17 and 25-17 in the Western Athletic Conference opener in front of a crowd of 5,655 at the Stan Sheriff Center Thursday.

 

Chanteal Satele stepped up big for UH, hitting .400 with nine digs and six blocks. Kanani Danielson went for 15 kills and 10 digs while Brittany Hewitt hit .429 with seven kills and a match-high eight blocks. Dani Mafua chimed in 36 assists and 11 digs with Elizabeth Ka'aihue posting 15 digs, three aces and five assists.

 

Hawai'i opened a 10-6 edge to start the first set. But the Aggies battled, scoring the next three points to pull it back to 10-9. UH responded with a six-point run that was capped by two blocks by Hewitt and Satele, making it 16-9. Utah State got back on the tough serve of Laurel Bodily, scoring eight straight to take the lead at 17-16. The two teams battled from then on, with neither team taking a lead of more than a point. The Rainbow Wahine put it away as Danielson put away a kill before teaming up with Hewitt for the block that ended the set 26-24.

 

UH jumped out quickly in the second set, scoring the first five points. Hawai'i got their lead as high as 11-3, then kept a big cushion throughout the rest of the set, ending at 25-17 on a timely dump by Mafua. Danielson and Satele came up big in the second set, both posting five kills while hitting .625 and .500, respectively.

 

The third set again started with Hawai'i getting out to an early lead at 14-5 after Ka'aihue served UH on a seven-point run. From there, the Rainbow Wahine kicked it into cruise control, allowing a bunch of players to get some playing time on their way to a 25-17 victory.

 

The Rainbow Wahine will next host Nevada tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center before heading out on their first road trip of the season.