Wahine flying high

Photo Gallery: Wahine volleyball Sept. 7, 2013

Hawaii won a volleyball classic Saturday in front of a sold-out Stan Sheriff Center.

For one of the few times in its storied rivalry with UCLA, however, the description had nothing to do with the quality of the match.

The ninth-ranked Rainbow Wahine claimed their 11th Hawaiian Airlines Classic championship with a shockingly simple 25-18, 25-17, 25-18 sweep.

The 10th-ranked Bruins came in unbeaten (5-0) and untested, and quickly flunked their first test.

"They graduated two of the best left sides in the country (Tabi Love and Rachael Kidder), so I knew they would not be as good out there," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "But both middles started on their (2011) national championship team and they have a really good right-sider (Karsta Lowe).

"They’re still going to be a good team. Mike (Sealy) will get them straightened out."

The crowd didn’t care. It came to see the Wahine win big and that’s what it got. Some 24 hours after Hawaii (5-1) celebrated an emotional win over Santa Clara, and a more emotional celebration marking Shoji’s historic 1,107th victory, the Wahine came in ready to rock for nearly 10,000 fans.

"There’s always energy for UCLA," Shoji said as he walked out Friday after becoming the winningest coach in his sport.

The Bruins could not match it in the opening set. Despite a flurry of Hawaii errors, they never got better in the last two.

The Wahine stuffed Lowe, who came in averaging 4.76 kills a set and hitting .492. She had seven kills Saturday, and hit .100. The Bruins had no one else.

"When you shut down their big hitter, they kinda freak out," said UH setter Mita Uiato, who was up against the 6-foot-4 Lowe on the line. "They try to find other people and force it."

The result gave the Wahine a 37-34 edge in the series, which goes back longer than Shoji’s 39-year career. The Bruins had won six of the last eight to close the gap.

Saturday, the difference between the teams was gaping.

Hawaii played a brilliant first set, catching UCLA at 6 and pulling away on a series of runs. They were made possible by an exceptionally balanced attack complemented by huge assists from the back-row specialists.

UH got four kills apiece from All-American Emily Hartong and freshman Nikki Taylor, with middles Kalei Adolpho and Jade Vorster going 5-for-7.

"It was the passing for sure," said the 5-8 Uiato. "Passing in the middle of the court to be more specific because then the blockers have to stay true to their hitters. Once the pass is in the middle, my middles are open and my wings should have one blocker and a huge seam. If the pass is on the money, I can distribute it throughout."

Then the Wahine got sloppy, giving UCLA 11 of its first 15 points on errors in Set 2. Still, they pulled away, scoring nine of the last 12 when the Bruins could not put a ball down.

UCLA had four blocks in the set, and six kills. By the end Sealy — Shoji’s former assistant — had thrown in a freshman setter.

The final set was just as ragged, and ended the same way. The teams traded poor plays to 15-all before Hawaii got something going.

"We made too many hitting errors tonight, a lot of unforced errors," Shoji said. "In a tighter match it would have been tough to win those games, but we just did enough to keep in the game and at the end of each game we were pretty good."

Hartong again blew away all hints of UH balance, finishing with 15 kills. She was named the tournament’s most outstanding player for the second straight year.

"As a setter, to win the game you have to find the hot hitter," said Uiato, who joined Hartong on the all-tournament team, along with libero Ali Longo. "Every night Hartong is the hot hitter."

Adolpho and Vorster added seven kills apiece, with Adolpho in on five stuffs.

Santa Clara 3, NMSU 1

Broncos freshman Sabrina Clayton went 19-for-29 without a hitting error to lift Santa Clara (3-3) to a 25-22, 17-25, 25-16, 27-25 win in the third-place match.

The Aggies (1-5) had three set points in the fourth. Clayton killed the first and Lauren Loerch, who led NMSU with 10 kills, hit wide on the next.

A hitting error by freshman Nikki Hess, who had 16 kills for the Broncos, gave NMSU one more try, but Haley Cameron erased that and kills from Clayton and Taylor Milton ended it.

Notes

Look for another massive shift in Monday’s AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll as early-season "upsets" worked in the Wahine’s favor over the weekend.

San Diego, which beat Hawaii on Sunday to move into the Top 25 this week at No. 14, took out 11th-ranked Iowa State on Friday. The Toreros (4-1) also defeated 18th-ranked Illinois.

Saturday in the Nike Big Four Classic at Austin, sixth-ranked Texas, which lost to the Wahine in the season opener, upset top ranked Penn State in five sets. Eighth-ranked Florida beat second-ranked Stanford in four.

Freshman setter Kyra Goodman will redshirt along with Southern Idaho transfer Keani Passi this season. Goodman’s sister, Kaela, is a senior for UH. Both are from California. Passi is from Pearl City.