HONOLULU – The No. 4 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (4-0) came back to defeat the Michigan State Spartans (4-1) 25-18, 31-33, 24-26, 25-20 and 15-11 in front of a crowd of 6,024 in the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center Friday.
Michigan State jumped out to a few early two-point leads before a 6-1 Hawai'i run gave the Rainbow Wahine a 15-11 edge at the first media timeout. The Spartan pulled within two before Hawai'i ran away with it, taking the first set 25-18. UH had a great set offensively, hitting .400 with 17 kills.
The Spartans pushed ahead 9-4 to start the second set. A block by Hewitt and Mafua got it back to 12-10, but MSU kept pushing, making it 19-13 to force a Shoji timeout. UH cut it down before a timely four-point run forced a tie at 22-22. After trading a couple points, Michigan State took their first set point at 24-23. The teams traded sideouts before a
Michelle Waber kill and a kill by Danielson from the back row gave UH their first set point at 26-25. MSU fought off five set points before taking the second set 33-31.
Hawai'i took control early in the third set as three Hartong kills sparked a 7-1 UH run to go ahead 12-5. The Rainbow Wahine got it to 15-8 before a ferocious 6-1 run cut it back to 16-14. MSU would tie it a few times, even taking the lead at 21-20. A big ace by the Hewitt capped a three-point run to make put UH ahead 23-21. Hawai'i got to set point at 24-22. But the Spartans reeled off four points in a row, taking the set 26-24.
MSU jumped out early, taking some big leads before pushing to 12-7 to force a Shoji timeout. The adjustments in the break worked, as UH ran off six points on the serve of Ka'aihue, putting the Rainbow Wahine ahead 13-12. After trading points for a while, Waber had two kills bracketing an ace by Hewitt, giving Hawai'i the 20-16 advantage. The Spartans couldn't get it within three from then on as UH took the 25-20 set victory.
Hawai'i opened the fifth and decisive set with a 4-1 edge before two MSU points brought it back to 4-3. Waber had timely back-to-back kills to cap a three-point UH run, pushing the Rainbow Wahine ahead 8-4. The Spartans scored three in a row to get within a point before Hawai'i regained control. A 4-1 run by UH made it 12-8, forcing a MSCU timeout. The Rainbow Wahine were then able to just side out the rest of the way, taking the fifth set 15-11.
In the first match of the day, USC swept through New Mexico 25-19, 25-19 and 25-20. The Rainbow Wahine will face New Mexico at 7 p.m. after the Trojans take on the Spartans in the first match of the day at 5 p.m.
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