HONOLULU – The No. 5 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (2-0) swept through the Kansas State Wildcats (0-2) 25-16, 25-23 and 25-20 in front of a crowd of 6,173 at the Stan Sheriff Center Saturday.

 

Kanani Danielson hit .394 with 17 kills and nine digs to lead Hawai'i. Brittany Hewitt had six kills and four blocks while Elizabeth Ka'aihue had a match-high 16 digs. Emily Hartong added nine kills.

 

Hewitt started the match dominant at the net again, just a night after setting the UH rally scoring record for blocks in a match, posting two early stuffs to get Hawai'i ahead 4-1. After three KSU points tied it up, the Rainbow Wahine responded with five-straight points to push to a 9-4 advantage. UH kept that five-point spread for most of the rest of the way before running off six of seven points late, getting it to 24-14, before closing the set 25-16.

 

K-State used and early 6-1 spurt to jump ahead 8-4 at the start of the second set. The Wildcats got it to 12-6 before a six-point run, sparked by freshmen subs Mita Uiato and Kaela Goodman, tied it up at 12-12. Kansas State rebuilt a four-point lead at 18-14, but the resilient Rainbow Wahine ran off eight of the next nine points, pulling ahead 22-19. UH would hold the lead the rest of the way, taking the second set 25-23.

 

Hawai'i opened the third set with a 5-2 edge, only to see the Wildcats come back to tie it at five apiece. Then Hartong went to work, putting away three kills in a 6-1 run that put UH ahead 11-6. The Rainbow Wahine pushed their lead to 19-11 and 22-14 before K-State ran off five points to get it to 22-19. But UH was able to close it out, scoring three of the next four points to take the third set 25-20.

 

In the first match of the invitational, No. 16 UCLA swept through No. 22 San Diego 25-14, 25-19 and 25-21, setting up a championship match against the Rainbow Wahine at 5 p.m. tomorrow. The Toreros will face K-State in the first match tomorrow, starting at 3 p.m.