LIHU‘E — After not having lost a set for 20 consecutive matches, the University of Hawai‘i Rainbow Wahine were then swept twice within a three-match span at the most inopportune times. The second sweep was much more costly, a 3-0
LIHU‘E — After not having lost a set for 20 consecutive matches, the University of Hawai‘i Rainbow Wahine were then swept twice within a three-match span at the most inopportune times.
The second sweep was much more costly, a 3-0 loss at the hands of the Washington Huskies in the second round of the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship tournament, Friday night in Seattle, Wash., knocking the Wahine out of the event.
Washington (23-8) entered the tournament ranked 11th in the nation according to the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s most recent poll, while Hawai‘i (28-3) finished No. 7 in the same poll.
It is only the second time since the tournament went to a 64-team field in 1998 that UH has failed to reach the regional round.
Washington took command early on its way to a decisive 25-17, 25-11, 25-23 victory to advance to the third round, where it will take on Nebraska, the tournament’s No. 2 seed.
Kindra Carlson led Washington with 18 kills and a .395 hitting percentage. She also came up with seven digs.
Becky Perry had 12 kills and a .323 percentage, while Bianca Rowland finished with 10 kills and a .562 hitting percentage.
Lauren Barfield and Kylin Munoz added four and three kills, respectively, while setter Jenna Hagglund had 37 assists and 11 digs. Libero Jenna Orlandini led her side with 18 digs.
Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year Kanani Danielson, a back-to-back recipient of the honor, led the Wahine with 10 kills, while hitting .176. She also had 11 digs.
Michelle Waber hit .188 and had seven kills, while Brittany Hewitt had six kills and a .462 percentage. Chanteal Satele finished with five kills and four digs, while WAC Freshman of the Year Emily Hartong had four kills and a .500 percentage.
Setter Dani Mafua had 28 assists and libero Elizabeth Ka‘aihue had a match-high 21 digs.
As a team, Washington outhit Hawai‘i .328 to .170 and had just nine errors to the Wahine’s 15.
The Wahine were first stunned by Utah State in the final of the WAC championship, a 3-0 defeat last week that ended the amazing streak it had preceded. After a 3-0 victory over Portland State on Thursday, Hawai‘i saw its season come to an end in similar fashion.
Perry had the match-winning kill for Washington, putting away a spike after UH had saved three match points, hoping to prolong the contest.
UH played from behind the whole night as Washington used an 8-3 run in the middle of the opening set to take a 21-15 advantage.
Carlson then gave Washington the 1-0 lead by finishing a kill off a Hagglund feed.
The Huskies ran off six straight points for a 6-1 lead in the second and the Wahine never recovered, coming up on the short end of a 9-2 run for a 17-7 deficit. Perry and Rowland completed a 6-0 run to end the set by combining on a block for the 2-0 advantage in the match.
Leading 10-8 in the third and looking to ice the match, Washington used an 8-4 run to create some separation at 18-12 and back UH into a corner.
Trailing 24-20 and needing to survive four match points, Satele saved the first with a kill and then combined with Hewitt on a block to save the second.
After a Carlson error got the Wahine within one, Perry put an end to the UH season with her final kill.
