Wahine beat Rice for 43rd straight WAC victory

Advertiser Staff

A day after their most dominant showing of the season, the 13th-ranked University of Hawai'i Wahine out-did themselves.

Hawai'i smashed Rice, 30-10, 30-14, 30-21, last night at Autry Court in Houston. The Wahine's 43rd consecutive Western Athletic Conference volleyball victory took 75 minutes. The Owls' 46 points were a season low for an opponent, and four points fewer than Houston scored Wednesday.

"We seem to be playing better and better each time out. Our girls are focused," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "Rice is a pretty good team. We played very efficiently."

The Wahine's (9-4 overall, 2-0 WAC) hitting percentage was more than 400 points higher than the Owls' (.389 to negative .029). In the first three matches of this trip, which ends tomorrow at Tulsa, UH is out-hitting opponents .383 to negative .013.

First-year starters Lauren Duggins (9 blocks) and Margaret Vakasausau (7) helped the Wahine to a 12-4 blocking advantage over Rice. The Owls (6-5, 1-2) came in as the WAC's top blocking team and hadn't been out-blocked all season.

Kim Willoughby's ninth double-double of the season (17 kills, 10 digs) paced the Wahine. Maja Gustin added 11 kills and hit .529. Rebeca Pazo, a freshman from Argentina, had 14 kills — half the Owls' total. Only one other hitter had a positive percentage.