LOGAN, Utah – The No. 5 University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (19-1, 9-0 WAC) finished their long road trip with a sweep of the Utah State Aggies (15-7, 3-6) 25-18, 25-22 and 25-16 at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in a match televised nationally on ESPNU Monday.

 

Chanteal Satele celebrated her 20th birthday hitting .368 with 10 kills, six blocks and five digs. Elizabeth Ka'aihue tied season-highs with 22 digs and three aces while Kanani Danielson led all players with 12 kills. Brittany Hewitt built on her national lead in blocks, posting eight blocks to go with her six kills. Emily Hartong added seven kills while Dani Mafua went for 37 assists and seven digs.

 

After surrendering the first two points of the first set, Hewitt served the Rainbow Wahine on a five-point run to put them ahead 5-2. Utah State scored the next three to tie it at five, eventually taking back the lead at 12-11. A big 6-1 run by Hawai'i got it to 19-15 before pulling away to a 25-18 first set victory. UH did it with great defense in the first set, recording 23 digs, including 10 by Ka'aihue, and four blocks, allowing just seven Aggie kills.

 

The second set started out back-and-forth with USU holding a slight 5-4 lead. A four-point Hawai'i run, capped by two Hewitt blocks, got them up 8-5. The Rainbow Wahine kept the lead between two and five points the whole way, finishing off with a 25-22 second set victory. UH had six blocks in the set, including five by Hewitt.

 

Hawai'i opened the third set with a 5-1 lead, forcing an early USU timeout. UH pushed it up to 13-7 only to see a 5-1 Aggie run get it back to 14-11. But the Rainbow Wahine had the response, using a six-point run to get it to 20-12, before scoring the final three points to close it out 25-16.

 

UH returns home for a three matches in four days, starting with Boise State on Friday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Wahine will then host New Mexico State on Sunday, Oct. 31 and Louisiana Tech on Monday, Nov. 1.