"You can see she's going to be a great setter," Hawai'i coach Dave Shoji said. "She's a good blocker and a good defender."

While Mafua fought off "jitters" with 33 assists and 10 digs, Arizona defeated UH, 30-26, 39-37, 30-24, in a spring exhibition volleyball match Thursday night at the Stan Sheriff Center in front of 2,624 fans.

"There's always first-game jitters, and she did a good job of keeping her composure," departing All-American Kanoe Kamana'o said. "When things didn't go right — or how setters want them to go — she was calm about the whole situation."

Mafua showed her versatility when she switched to outside hitter — with Kamana'o setting — in the final points of Game 3.

"It was fun getting a set from her and getting a kill," Mafua said. "It was pretty exciting. I had a lot of jitters. I had big shoes to fill."

All-American Jamie Houston led Hawai'i with 24 kills, with nearly twice the amount of swings (58) as teammate Sarah Mason (30), a departing senior who also was allowed to play.

"I felt good," Houston said. "I was ready to play. I think we need a lot of improvement. We were kind of rusty, and we need more of a sense of urgency."

The Rainbow Wahine began their spring season Monday, giving them three days to prepare. They played without injured starters Tara Hittle (ankle), Nickie Thomas (knee), Jessica Keefe (knee) and Juliana Sanders (legs).

"We worked hard at practice those three days," Houston said.