Sixth-ranked Hawai'i captured its 11th consecutive Western Athletic Conference volleyball championship this afternoon, running away from New Mexico State, 25-19, 25-27, 25-18, 25-9, in the tournament final.

The Rainbow Wahine's 27th straight tournament victory came before a loud Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 4,855. Hawai'i is 26-3 going into its final regular-season matches Wednesday and Friday against Cal Poly.

The Aggies (23-8) have now lost to UH in the last three tournament championships. They came into today's final with a 15-match winning streak.

Most Outstanding Player Jamie Houston led the 'Bows with 22 kills and 11 digs, with Aneli Cubi-Otineru adding 12 kills and 10 digs, and freshman Kanani Danielson rallying after a slow start for 9 kills and 9 digs. Senior libero added 16 digs and fifth-year senior Nickie Thomas, who missed two seasons because of injury, buried match point.

New Mexico State was led by Lindsey Yon's 12 kills and 14 digs. The Aggies hit just .062 for the match — 39 points higher than the attack percentage they limited Hawai'i to when they won here during the WAC regular season.

The 'Bows were brilliant in the opening set, with Houston lifting them to an early advantage and Hawai'i refusing to relent. It held a 15-10 advantage at the first break, with Houston going 4-for-6 with two stuffs and one acrobatic save where she rolled to her feet and killed the ensuing set going the other direction.

The Aggies couldn't put three points together until it was too late — down 21-14 — and Houston's sixth kill slammed off the block and went over the endline on the UH side for set point.

The Rainbow Wahine rolled with that momentum to an 11-5 advantage in the second set and suddenly hit the wall — NMSU's block and their own persistent second-set slide. The Aggies went on a 10-2 run without having to do much as the 'Bows hit into the block and started to look tentative.

New Mexico State pushed its advantage to 19-16 and the set was tied from 20 to 24, with Houston's 13th kill holding off the first set point. Danielson blocked Whitney Woods' tip to give Hawai'i set point, but Woods erased that with another tip that went down.

The Aggies won when Danielson hit the net in the process of burying an overset, then pushed set point into the antenna. Hawai'i finished the set hitting zero — 12 kills, 12 errors — while NMSU won despite an .047 attack percentage.

The Rainbows slid straight into the third set, falling behind 6-2, before Danielson rallied and brought her older teammates with her. Hawai'i caught NMSU at 14, with Danielson contributing two emphatic kills and two more emphatic stuffs.

Hawai'i had found its rhythm again, and outscored the Aggies 15-5 to go up 2-1. Cubi-Otineru buryied the 23rd point and danced toward the bench, then helped Amber Kaufman stuff Altermatt, and danced some more, on the next serve.

The momentum blew into the fourth set and the Rainbows took a 10-1 lead on the serves of Stephanie Brandt — the backup setter who took UH to a WAC title for the second straight year — and Kaufman. NMSU called its final timeout down 14-3 and hitting negative .150.