Ka Leo O Hawaii

Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Jordan Murph The University of Hawai‘i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team had reason to celebrate after completing a three-match, five-game road trip with three consecutive wins.

The University of Hawai‘i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team swept the San Jose State University Spartans on Monday night to close out a successful five-day, three-match road trip. The Rainbow Wahine began on the road against Louisiana Tech on Thursday, before making their way to heated rival New Mexico State to face the Aggies on Saturday night. UH returns to Hawai‘i with an 11-3 record, improving to 5-0 in the Western Athletic Conference.

Hawai‘i uses four games to overcome Louisiana Tech

In their first road contest of the season, the Rainbow Wahine came back after losing Game 1 to defeat the Lady Techsters 23-30, 30-12, 30-19, 30-25 on Thursday night at the Lambright Intramural Center in Louisiana. UH gained momentum early, taking the initial lead in Game 1 before Louisiana Tech responded. The Lady Techsters went on a 10-1 run late to take a 27-20 advantage. The teams traded points from there, with the Lady Techsters taking the game 30-23. The game win was Louisiana Tech's first ever in 10 meetings.

In Game 2, with UH up 13-11, Aneli Cubi-Otineru headed to the service line for the Rainbow Wahine, where she served up 15 straight points to give Hawai‘i the 28-11 advantage and the cushion for victory. Cubi-Otineru broke the UH rally-scoring record of 14 straight points held by Lily Kahumoku and Raeceen Woolford.

Hawai‘i went on to take the match, scoring eight of the last 10 points in Game 3, and playing through 16 lead changes and six ties to come out victorious in Game 4. Elizabeth Ka‘aihue recorded a match-high 23 digs, while Jamie Houston finished with 22 kills, seven digs and four blocks.

Heated rivalry ends in five

The UH Rainbow Wahine needed five games to overcome rival No. 25 New Mexico State, 30-26, 28-30, 30-27, 28-30, 23-21, on Saturday night at the Pan American Center. The five-game thriller saw multiple lead changes, especially as each team neared closer to the win.

It was a team effort for the Rainbow Wahine, who were led by Houston, Juliana Sanders, Cubi-Otineru, Ka‘aihue and Stephanie Brandt. Houston topped all players with 29 kills and four blocks. The Aggies and the Rainbow Wahine will meet again in Hawai‘i on Oct. 26 at the Stan Sheriff Center.

San Jose State sweep

The Rainbow Wahine (11-3, 5-0) cruised to their third consecutive win to cap their five-day, three-match road trip, sweeping the Spartans of San Jose State 30-17, 30-25, 30-21 in front of a crowd of 823 at the Spartan Gym on Monday.

Playing well at the net, Hawai‘i accumulated 10 team blocks, while the Spartans were limited to a mere two. Leading UH was Houston, who had 24 kills on a .605 hitting percentage, to go with six digs and three blocks. Sophomore Cubi-Otineru added 16 kills of her own, with a .351 hitting percentage, while Sanders recorded seven kills and four blocks. Ka‘aihue led all players with 16 digs, while sophomore Brandt had 42 assists.

Hawai‘i remained the front-runner through all of Game 1, keeping the Spartans at bay, the closest margin being two points. Game 2 was much closer for the Rainbow Wahine, but they still managed to escape with the win. Hawai‘i maintained a comfortable lead in Game 3, closing out the Spartans and the three-game road trip with their third straight win.

Hawai‘i will have a weeklong break before returning to the Stan Sheriff Center on Oct. 5 to face the University of Nevada Wolf Pack.

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