In a match where momentum was fleeting but progress constant, 16th-ranked Hawai'i found a way to close against Louisville last night to win its way into today's championship match of the 20th annual Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic.

The Rainbow Wahine (3-2) out-rallied the Cardinals (3-3), 31-29, 30-28, 28-30, 30-24, before 4,105 at Stan Sheriff Center. They play fifth-ranked UCLA at 5 tonight for the title — the 15th time the teams have played the decisive match.

Hawai'i has won nine Classic championships and the Bruins seven, including last year when they swept the 'Bows. UCLA did it again in December, at the NCAA's Honolulu Regional, and advanced to its first final four in 13 years.

"UCLA is awfully good, so steady," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "They've got weapons at every position. I don't think they are as physical as last year but their setter (All-American Nellie Spicer) is what makes them really good. She can get anybody involved on any kind of pass."

Louisville coach Leonid Yelin watched the revamped Rainbow Wahine outscore his revamped squad at the end of every game but one — the only game Louisville won on its trip — and gave the edge to the Bruins.

"If Hawai'i is not going to step up — big step up — in ball control," Yelin said, "I don't think they even have a chance."

He should have seen the 'Bows' ball control last weekend. They have made huge strides in what Shoji characterized as "huge wins" against K-State and Louisville this weekend. They hardly look polished, but did everything they had to do to win last night behind Jamie Houston's 26 kills and freshman Liz Ka'aihue's 31 digs. It was the first 30-plus dig match for a Rainbow Wahine since Kanoe Kamana'o did it in 2004.

"She passed better again tonight, too," Shoji said of Ka'aihue. "She's learning how to be disciplined, stay in the team defense. She's been used to roaming around doing her own thing, but now she's understanding what the team is supposed to be doing."

UH did lots right last night, most noticeably and optimistically at the ends of games.

It outscored the Cardinals 6-1 to close the first, with Kari Gregory and Aneli Cubi-Otineru twice stuffing 6-foot-3 Svetlana Dukule, who led Louisville with 17 kills. The Rainbows held 6-foot-6 Jana Matiasovska, who came into the match averaging a team-high four-plus kills a game, to 11 all night on .100 hitting

"We stayed composed and made the plays when it counted," setter Stephanie Brandt said. "Jungle ball sometimes, but we made them."

After an early UH advantage evaporated in Game 2, captain Tara Hittle put Hawai'i on her right arm, getting the last three kills in a 4-2 closing surge.

The Cardinals, traveling with 10 players and minus an injured starter, barely held on to a 29-25 advantage in Game 3 and got outscored 6-1 again in the fourth, after Shoji called his last timeout.

"We needed a little burst of energy," Shoji said. "I thought if we got a sideout and served for a point then the match was ours. That's exactly what happened."

Juliana Sanders' 11th kill got the sideout and Houston scored the next point. The Cardinals blocked her on the next play, but Houston went over setter Samantha Dabbs to make it 27-24, buried a bad pass for 28-24 and, after Brandt's ace, pounded aloha point.

"We got some breaks in there and some fortunate sideouts," Shoji said, "but we earned a lot of the points at the end which is a good sign."

For the second straight match Houston's hitting percentage was over .300 (.333) and she collected 17 digs. Hittle was the only UH hitter below .292 — Hawai'i hit a season-high .273 — but she hung in long enough to amass 17 kills.

The Cardinals had a roster full of imposing 6-foot-and-up hitters from foreign countries, but their most effective attacker was Dabbs, the setter. She burned the 'Bows for 13 kills in a mind-boggling 26 tries.

"The setter was very deceptive," Shoji said. "We didn't know whether she was going to dump or set. ... It's a difficult play to read and she's very good at it."

The Rainbows could laugh about it later.

"I wonder if her hitters get (upset)," Brandt asked.

So did Houston: "I wonder if they are like, 'Hey, I'm 6-6. What are you doing?' "

It was the 'Bows' most balanced performance of the season as Shoji stayed with his Friday lineup a week after trying a dozen players. After the first game all but one UH hitter had at least four kills. That one — Otineru — caught up in Game 2, launching five kills and jump-starting an early surge with two kills and two aces.

Clearly, Hawai'i is getting closer to finding itself. UCLA will probably point out more flaws tonight, but the 'Bows already know there is a long way to go.

"We haven't found it yet," Houston said. "It will take a couple more games before we find our true personality. It's just a matter of time. It's just a lack of confidence sometimes. We get down. We just have to know who is on the court next to us."

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.