SAN JOSE, Calif. – The No. 3 University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (25-1, 14-0 WAC) clinched at least a share of their 14th consecutive Western Athletic Conference title with a sweep over the San Jose State Spartans (8-20, 3-11) 25-17, 25-17 and 25-21 at Spartan Gym Saturday.

 

The win extended UH's nation-long streaks of 53 sets won and 39 conference matches won. Hawai'i is now one set shy of the school record of 54, set in 2002.

 

Brittany Hewitt came up big at the net, hitting .417 with five kills, eight blocks and two aces. Kanani Danielson had 13 kills and eight digs while Michelle Waber hit .400 with seven kills in just two sets played. Emily Hartong also added six kills, four digs and a .600 hitting percentage in two sets with Elizabeth Ka'aihue posting 13 digs and two aces.

 

Hawai'i came out firing in the first set, jumping ahead 8-1 on an ace by Dani Mafua. SJSU pulled it back to 14-10 before UH got it rolling again, scoring three in a row to make it 17-10. The Hawai'i lead got to 22-14 before the Rainbow Wahine put it away 25-17.

 

UH started the second set with Hartong on the outside and Alexis Forsythe in the middle. Hartong served Hawai'i to a quick 3-0 lead, which got extended to 8-3 later on. The Spartans got it back to 8-6 and 10-8 before the Rainbow Wahine got it going. UH would score 14 of the next 19 points to get to a 24-13 set point. SJSU came back with four points before a service error ended it 25-17.

 

In the third set, Alex Griffiths served the Rainbow Wahine on an early five-point run to make it 10-5. A 5-0 by the Spartans, on the serve of Alex Akana, got it back to 12-11. But that was as close as San Jose State would get. Hawai'i hit .400 as a team in the third set as a solo block by Hewitt finished the set 25-21.

 

The Rainbow Wahine close out this road trip with a match at Nevada tomorrow, at 6 p.m. (4 p.m. HT).