HONOLULU – The No. 5 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (3-0) defeated the No. 16 UCLA Bruins (2-0) 25-22, 25-19, 18-25 and 25-21 in the championship match of the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Volleyball Invitational in front of a crowd of 6,495 at the Stan Sheriff Center Sunday.

 

Kanani Danielson led a balanced Hawai'i attack, hitting .359 with 17 kills and 15 digs. Michelle Waber added a career-high 12 kills while Brittany Hewitt hit .421 with four blocks and two aces. Emily Hartong and Chanteal Satele both posted nine kills while Elizabeth Ka'aihue had 14 digs. Dani Mafua had 44 assists and nine digs.

 

Danielson took control early on as she put away three early kills to give Hawai'i a 5-2 edge. A three-point UCLA run tied it at six apiece, before UH again took control. The Rainbow Wahine used a couple of quick points to take the lead, and never looked back, taking the first set 25-22. The UH offense was clicking in the first set, as UH hit .361 with 17 kills.

 

UCLA jumped ahead 5-3 to start the second set. But an ace by Hewitt capped a three-point run, putting Hawai'i ahead 6-5. UH later used a 7-3 run to get out to a 13-9 lead. The Rainbow Wahine kept at least a three-point cushion the rest of the way, taking the set by a final of 25-19. Hawai'i sided out at an amazing 94-percent (18-of-19) in the set, hitting .459 with 19 kills.

 

The third set started out back-and-forth with neither team holding a lead of more than one point until a 4-1 run by the Bruins put them ahead 7-5. Hawai'i got back within a point on a few occasions until a timely five-point UCLA run put them ahead 17-12. UH got it down to 20-17. But a timely four-point Bruin run got them to set point at 24-17. A kill by Hewitt held it off for a point before UCLA closed it out 25-18.

 

Hawai'i ran off five-straight points early in the fourth to get out to a 6-1 advantage. UH kept that five-point cushion until a 5-0 UCLA run tied it at 10 apiece. A three-point Rainbow Wahine, highlighted by a kill by defensive specialist Emily Maeda, put them back in control at 15-13. Hewitt then added two consecutive blocks to push UH's lead to 19-15. The Bruins pulled within two points on a couple occasions before a couple Danielson kills put it away, 25-21.

 

In the first match of the day, San Diego beat Kansas State 22-25, 25-16, 25-22 and 25-15, to take third in the invitational.

 

The Rainbow Wahine will next host the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic from Thursday, Sept. 2, to Sunday, Sept. 5, with Michigan State, New Mexico and Southern California coming to the Stan Sheriff Center.

Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational All-Tournament Team
Amy Mahinalani DeGroot, San Diego
Kaitlynn Pelger, Kansas State
Dicey McGraw, UCLA
Rachael Kidder, UCLA
Elizabeth Ka'aihue, Hawai`i
Brittany Hewitt, Hawai`i
Kanani Danielson, Hawai`i (MOP)