Hawai'i Advances to NCAA Second Round
November 30, 2007 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 30, 2007
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 9 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (27-5) swept through the Tennessee State Tigers (20-14) 30-26, 30-14 and 30-17 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday.
Juliana Sanders came up big for Hawai`i, posting 11 kills and a .714 hitting percentage. Jamie Houston hit .333 with 18 kills, seven digs, five blocks and two aces while Aneli Cubi-Otineru had seven kills, eight digs and two aces. Amber Kaufman (five kills, three blocks, two aces, .500 hitting) and Kari Gregory (four kills, .800 hitting) made good contributions in the middle while Stephanie Brandt posted 44 assists, six digs and three aces.
A quick three-point run by the Tigers put them ahead 6-5 early. A 5-0 UH run got the Rainbow Wahine a 14-11 lead, only to see TSU score four in row, taking a 15-14 edge into the media timeout. It went back-and-forth until a 5-1 Hawai`i run pushed UH to a 26-23 edge. The Rainbow Wahine rode that momentum the rest of the way, taking game one 30-26.
Game two started tight with five ties, the last at 8-8. But Hawai`i then broke out, scoring 14 of the next 15 points to pull ahead 22-9. The Rainbow Wahine coasted the rest of the way, taking the second game 30-14.
Brandt had three aces in a 6-0 run early in game three to put UH ahead 7-2. A 10-1 run later in the game got it to 20-7 before the Rainbow Wahine closed it out with a 30-17 game three win.
Hawai`i will now await the winner of the Louisville-Middle Tennessee State match, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST (2 p.m. HST)
