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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 10:24 p.m., Saturday, November 5, 2005

Rainbow Wahine sweep Idaho in volleyball

Advertiser Staff

Ninth-ranked Hawai'i defeated Idaho, 30-18, 30-23, 30-23, tonight in a Western Athletic Conference volleyball match before a Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 5,790.

Hawai'i (18-6, 12-0) has won its past 11 matches and 30 straight games. It has beaten 118 consecutive WAC opponents and is a win away from clinching a share of its 10th straight WAC regular-season championship.

Idaho (13-12, 5-7) did little to threaten those streaks. The Vandals hit just .148, with the Rainbows roofing 14 balls, led by Victoria Prince's seven stuffs.

Sarah Mason (12 kills) and Tara Hittle (11) led the offense. Mason played in just the first two games while Hittle played front row for less than two.

Hawai'i started fast in Game 1, which ended quickly. It scored the first three points, then got seven in a row to take a 14-6 advantage.

Hittle, averaging a little more than a kill a game, finished with seven kills in the opener. She hit .353 — 200 points over her average.

In the next game Mason supplied the bulk of the offense, burying nine kills in 15 swings.

The dominance by the Rainbow left sides was necessary because their passing was lacking. For the first two games, the UH middles had just 18 attempts combined. Idaho took advantage of the sloppiness to stay even in Game 2 to 20-all.

Prince's fifth kill of the night put the 'Bows ahead and she served three points to give them the separation they were seeking.

Dave Shoji brought in three new starters for the final game

The mass substitution was hardly a distraction. Hawai'i scored seven of the first eight points and Idaho never got within three again.