Hawai'i's road to volleyball wellness continued with a convincing 30-23, 30-17, 30-17 victory over Western Athletic Conference opponent Fresno State last night.

A crowd of 5,007 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the 11th-ranked Rainbow Wahine overcome shaky starts in the first two games before overpowering the Bulldogs in an efficient 1 hour, 29 minutes.

"I think we accomplished what we wanted to do tonight which was get a lot people in and try to rest some people," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "I think we made progress, and I think we're ready to come out and give more of an even performance. I'm hoping we're not so up and down."

Sarah Mason — the reigning WAC Player of the Week — tallied a match-high 13 kills and Shoji played all 16 players who suited up as Hawai'i improved to 10-6 overall and 4-0 in the WAC. Fresno State dropped to 3-12 and 1-4.

In addition, Hawai'i won its 110th consecutive WAC match, and stretched its domination over the Bulldogs to 36-0 all-time.

Hawai'i hosts Nevada (10-5, 5-0) in a showdown of the WAC's top teams tonight at 7.

Last night, Hawai'i — a team tabbed for greatness following the return of every starter from last season's 30-1 squad — flexed its muscles in nearly every statistical category. The Rainbow Wahine outhit the Bulldogs (.325 to .044) and outblocked them (13 to 2).

"Some people see a matchup of a 3-11 Fresno State team going against Hawai'i — who has won 100-plus conference matches — as a nothing-to-lose situation," first-year Fresno State coach Ruben Nieves said. "I don't believe that. We had a great opportunity and we did not make the most of it."

In Game 1, Hawai'i rallied from a 0-6 deficit and tied the score at 12 on Victoria Prince's ace.

After a kill by Mason gave Hawai'i its first lead at 13-12, Fresno State tied the game three times before UH snapped a 17-all deadlock with a 5-2 run that was capped by Prince's second ace of the game. Fresno State closed to 22-21, but UH finished the game with a 8-2 run.

"I think we did a really good job of staying patient, even in a tough situation at the start of the game when they got a run on us," Mason said. "We kept the ball in play and didn't make errors. I think everyone did a real good job of staying efficient."

UH again trailed early in Game 2, but clawed back to tie the score at 5 before engineering a 7-4 run that was capped by Kanoe Kamana'o's kill on an overpass.

With Hawai'i leading 21-15, Cayley Thurlby served five straight points to give UH an 11-point lead it would not relinquish.

Shoji rested most of his starters in Game 3 and UH did not miss a beat, sprinting to an 8-3 lead. With UH leading 14-8, Thurlby again served five consecutive points for a 19-8 cushion.

Two Hawai'i players on Fresno State were not with the team last night. Nieves said senior outside hitter La'akea Campbell, an Iolani graduate, was released from the team a few weeks ago because of a "lack of effort and team attitude." Sophomore outside hitter Mounia Nihipali, a Kamehameha Schools graduate, was not selected for the travel squad and was taking care of "an important academic matter," Nieves said.

DIVISION II

Flavia Brakling had 20 kills and 15 digs as No. 5 Hawai‘i Pacific swept No. 21 Brigham Young-Hawai‘i, 30-28, 30-25, 30-24, last night in a Pacific West Conference volleyball match at Cannon Activities Center in La‘ie.

Barbara Martin added 15 kills, and Vera Oliveira contributed 43 assists and 15 digs for HPU (13-1, 3-0 PacWest).

Yu Chuan Weng had 22 kills and 11 digs, and Lilly Tufuga added 12 kills for BYUH (13-2, 3-2).

Elsewhere in the PacWest last night, Taina Savage had 15 kills as Hawai‘i-Hilo swept Chaminade, 30-25, 30-25, 30-27, at McCabe Gym.
Olevao Desarri added eight kills and nine digs for Hilo (11-5, 2-1).
Trina Kauliakamoa and Kara Smith each had 10 kills for Chaminade (8-8, 0-5).

Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com.