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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, October 14, 2005

Rainbow Wahine go to 6-0 in WAC play

Advertiser Staff

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Strong performances by middle blockers Victoria Prince and Juliana Sanders, and outside hitter Sarah Mason helped spark the 11th-ranked University of Hawai'i women's volleyball team past host Idaho yesterday.

Mason had a match-high 19 kills, while Prince and Sanders combined to hit .488 with 25 kills in a 30-24, 30-22, 30-18 Western Athletic Conference victory at Moscow, Idaho.

"I think our middles were on, and that kind of set the tone for the match," Hawai'i coach Dave Shoji said. "Both our middles hit for a high percentage, and pretty much had their way tonight."

Conference-leader Hawai'i needed just 95 minutes to improve to 12-6 overall and 6-0 in the WAC. The Rainbow Wahine also stretched their WAC winning streak to 112 matches. The Vandals fell to 10-9 and 2-4.

Prince — who grew up in nearby Kennewick, Wash. — tied a career high with four aces, and has team-high 21 this season. Hawai'i registered seven aces yesterday.

"Victoria's serve was on tonight," Shoji said. "Her mom and dad were here, and so were her brothers. So I think she had a little motivation tonight."

Tara Hittle had 18 digs and Ashley Watanabe added 11 digs. Kanoe Kamana'o led the offense with 49 assists. Prince chipped in with six block assists.

The Rainbow Wahine hit .322 for the match and limited the Vandals to .097.

Amanda Bowman and Haley Larsen led Idaho with nine kills each.

In Game 1, Hawai'i used a 6-1 run to break a 12-all tie. After Idaho closed to 24-22, Hawai'i finished the game with a 6-2 run, capped by Prince's two kills and a double block by Prince and Kamana'o.

"We had enough people who had enough energy, and we were able to grind out some points," Shoji said.

In Game 2, Prince served three consecutive aces for a 4-0 lead. Idaho closed to 8-6, but Hawai'i engineered an 8-2 run for a commanding 16-8 lead.

In Game 3, Hawai'i fell behind 9-8, but rallied with an 11-2 run to go ahead 19-11, and cruised the rest of the way.

Hawai'i plays at Boise State (4-9, 0-6) tomorrow. The match starts at 10 a.m. Hawai'i time and will be broadcast live on Sports Radio (1420AM).

Shoji said Idaho was similar in talent to New Mexico State, a first-year WAC team that took UH to five games on Oct. 1.

"I felt we needed to get off fast, and we did," Shoji said. "I'm pretty happy with the win."

As for Boise State, Shoji said: "We need to keep our focus and just prepare mentally for the game. We just need to make sure we don't take them lightly."