HONOLULU – The No. 4 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (5-0, 2-0 HAL) swept the New Mexico Lobos (2-4) 25-15, 25-14 and 25-21 in front of a crowd of 6,332 in the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center Saturday.
Hawai'i went ahead 8-5 to start the first set, only to see a three-point Lobo run tie it up. Maeda then served UH on a seven-point run that including three-straight Danielson kills, putting the Rainbow Wahine ahead 15-8. UH used another three-point run to make it 19-12, before coasting to a 25-15 first set victory.
After a back-and-forth start to the second set, Hawai'i ran off five points in a row on three kills by Waber and two by Hartong, putting UH ahead 10-5. Another run by the Rainbow Wahine got it to 19-11 before Hawai'i ran away with the second set, 25-14. Ka'aihue passed the 1,000-dig mark during the second set.
The Rainbow Wahine jumped ahead 12-8 to start the third set. But the Lobos answered, coming back to take the lead at 17-16. After trading a few sideouts, Hawai'i went on a timely 4-0 run on the serve on Hartong, putting UH ahead 22-19. UNM would score a couple more points before a kill by Danielson ended it 25-21.
In the early match of the day, No. 10 USC defeated Michigan State 25-17, 25-23 and 25-15, setting up the championship match between the two top 10 teams tomorrow at 5 p.m.
-UH-