LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Brittany Hewitt broke a school rally-scoring record, hitting .917 with 11 kills, as the No. 6 University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (13-1, 3-0 WAC) swept through the New Mexico State Aggies (8-8, 2-1) 25-16, 25-14 and 25-14 in front of a nationally-televised audience on ESPNU at the Pan American Center Wednesday.

 

Hewitt, who was perfect until the last few points of the match, posted 11 kills on 12 swings, adding five blocks and one ace. She broke Victoria Prince's rally-scoring record of .867 (vs. SMU on Nov. 19, 2004), while falling one attempt short of becoming just the second UH player ever to have a perfect hitting night with at least 10 attempts. Chanteal Satele continued her great play in WAC matches, hitting .474 with 11 kills, six digs and five blocks. Kanani Danielson added nine kills and 11 digs while Elizabeth Ka'aihue had a match-high 16 digs. Freshmen Emily Hartong (five kills, .833 hitting) and Michelle Waber (five kills, .333 hitting) also played well in their first collegiate road matches.

 

The first set started out back-and-forth until a 4-1 Rainbow Wahine run gave UH the 9-7 advantage. A couple kills by Danielson got Hawai'i the 18-14 lead. After NMSU scored a couple points, UH ran away with it, scoring the final seven points of the set, capped by a couple Satele kills, taking it 25-16.

 

NMSU jumped out early 4-2 before a couple blocks by Satele and Hewitt capped a six-point run to put the Rainbow Wahine ahead 8-4. UH continued to hold that lead with a big 5-0 run making it 21-11. Hawai'i continued to dominate throughout the set, taking it 25-14. UH only allowed the Aggies to score one point off their serve in the set, siding out at an amazing 92 percent rate (13-for-14).

 

After a back-and-forth start to the third set, Hawai'i took control, using a five-point run to go ahead 10-4. A 6-1 run by the Rainbow Wahine later in the set got it to 17-7. NMSU wouldn't get any closer as UH put it away with a 25-14 victory in the set.

 

The Rainbow Wahine continue the road trip with a match at Louisiana Tech on Friday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. (2 p.m. HT).