HONOLULU – The No. 6 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (8-1) survived a tough match against the St. Mary's Gaels (6-2) 25-22, 25-27, 25-23 and 25-23 in front of a crowd of 6,329 in the Verizon Wireless Volleyball Challenge championship match at the Stan Sheriff Center Saturday.

 

Kanani Danielson led UH with 20 kills and 12 digs, helping her earn challenge most outstanding player honors. Brittany Hewitt hit .375 with 11 kills and nine blocks while Chanteal Satele closed out a solid tournament with 11 kills, 10 digs and four blocks, earning all-tournament team honors. Elizabeth Ka'aihue also was named to the all-tournament team, posting 17 digs while Emily Maeda chimed in 10 digs.

 

St. Mary's jumped out to a 7-2 lead to start the first set. A four-point run by the Rainbow Wahine pulled them within at point at 7-6. UH eventually took their first lead at 11-10, before the set got tight. After five ties, Hawai'i broke through with a 5-1 run, capped by back-to-back kills by Emily Hartong, putting them ahead 20-16. The Gaels pulled back within a point on a few occasions before a block by Hewitt and Michelle Waber ended it 25-22.

 

Hawai'i opened the second set with a 5-2 edge, only to see a 4-0 St. Mary's run put the Gaels ahead 6-5. After the lead went back-and-forth for a while, SMC used a 6-2 spurt, pushing their advantage to 14-11. The Gaels kept the lead throughout, taking their first set point at 24-22. Satele put away a kill and an ace to tie it at 24-24. Hartong would get a kill to give UH their first set point at 25-24. But St. Mary's had the answer, scoring the next three points to take the second set 27-25.

 

The Gaels kept it going in the third set, taking a 13-5 lead early on. SMC kept the big advantage at 16-10, only to see a big four-point UH run pull the Rainbow Wahine back to within two points at 16-14. St. Mary's had the answer, scoring three in a row to get it to 19-14. But Hawai'i kept coming back, eventually tying it at 21-21. After trading points for a while, the Rainbow Wahine saved one last spurt, scoring the final three points of the set to take it 25-23.

 

St. Mary's got ahead 4-1 to start the fourth set before Hawai'i answered, tying it at 5-5. The Gaels used a four-point run to take back the lead at 10-6. St. Mary's kept that lead until a big 7-1 Rainbow Wahine run put UH ahead 15-13. The Gaels took the lead back at 16-15 and held it for most of the rest of the way. SMC was up 23-21 late before crucial four-point run, capped by a block by Satele and Hewitt, ended the night with a 25-23 UH victory.

 

Hawai'i will next host two non-conference matches against Brigham Young on Sept. 17 and 18, at the Stan Sheriff Center.