Venting all the emotion that was missing Wednesday when sixth-ranked Hawai'i somehow salvaged a volleyball victory over Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo), the Rainbow Wahine closed their regular season tonight with an impressive 25-17, 25-19, 25-23 victory over the Mustangs.

\Two nights after almost nothing went right but the final score, it was tough to find anything wrong with the Rainbows (28-3), who find out their NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday. They trailed for all of one serve before a Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 5,488.

When it was over — an hour earlier than Wednesday — they celebrated seniors Jamie Houston, Tara Hittle, Nickie Thomas and Jessica Keefe with a halau, video and a few thousand of their closest friends offering many flowers.

Houston bounced back with 15 kills to anchor the Hawai'i attack, becoming only the second Rainbow Wahine in history — after 2003 Player of the Year Kim Willoughby — to get 2,000 in her career. Aneli Cubi-Otineru also rallied, hitting .421 with nine kills and one error.

Much of Hawai'i's .340 hitting could also be traced to the improved passing of Hittle, Kanani Danielson and Cubi-Otineru, who were aced 11 times Wednesday and not at all last night. Their hard work made the return of starting setter Dani Mafua — out most of the last five matches because of a hamstring injury — that much sweeter.

For Cal Poly (16-13), desperately trying to win its way into the postseason, it was a bittersweet end. A year ago, the Mustangs reached the NCAA regionals. This season, they finished third in the Big West — a conference without a ranked team.

Their last NCAA power rating was No. 51, and that was before they lost to No. 102 UC Irvine. They went 0-6 against ranked teams.

This sweep started nothing like Wednesday's non-stop five-set chase. The Rainbow Wahine blew to a 16-10 advantage in the first set with Amber Kaufman serving half the points.

The Mustangs could get no closer than three and Houston put an emphatic end to it with her 2,000th kill. Hawai'i out-hit Cal Poly by nearly 200 points, .346 to .125, and it was just warming up.

The 'Bows blasted at a .484 clip in Set 2, breaking to a 12-5 advantage with Mafua serving five straight and Houston in the midst of a seven-kill set. Cal Poly scored five of the final seven points and still wasn't close, with Houston and Thomas stuffing two-time Big West Player of the Year Kylie Atherstone to end it with a flourish.

In the final set, it was Cubi-Otineru helping Hawai'i get separation, serving four in a row to make it 13-8. The Mustangs again made a late run, erasing three match points before Kaufman's eighth loud kill ended it. 

The Rainbows' place in the 64-team NCAA Tournament field will be announced Sunday at 5 p.m. on ESPNU, with the first round scheduled next weekend at 16 home sites.

NOTES

Rainbow Wahine assistant coach Ryan Tsuji and manager — and former player — Hedder Ilustre sang the national anthem and Hawai'i Pono'i last night.

Former associate coach Howard Wallace was visiting from San Antonio with his family.