There was no question there would be a letdown. The question was how much.

Hawaii followed up Friday’s emotional five-set upset of No. 21 San Diego by weathering the storm against St. John’s.

Junior hitter Jolie Rasmussen’s 16 kills led a balanced attack and the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team had double-digit blocks (16) for a second straight night in turning back St. John’s 26-28, 25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 15-12 in Saturday’s second match of the Hawaiian Airlines Classic before 4,623 at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Rainbow Wahine, 2-0 for the first time since 2015, go for their 12th title in this event when they take on No. 13 Washington (2-0) in the tournament finale at 5 p.m. In Saturday’s first match, the Huskies turned back No. 21 San Diego 25-20, 20-25, 25-19, 29-27.

>> Click here to see more photos from the match between Hawaii and St. John’s.

The Toreros (0-2) will play the Red Storm (0-2) for third place at 2:45 p.m.

A Pac-12 team has won the past four titles. The Wahine last won their signature event in 2013.

“I don’t know know how we did it,” Hawaii coach Robyn Ah Mow said. “Heart? Yes, I guess it was heart.

“I know I’m very excited to coach against Washington, big, physical girls. We have no teams like this in the Big West.”

Senior setter Bailey Choy, who played her first three years at Utah, is very familiar with the Huskies.

“I’m excited to see them again,” said Choy, whose last two serves had Hawaii leading 14-11 in Set 5. “Obviously they’re big and a really good team.”

The other question is: How much does Hawaii have left for today after a second five-setter, the one against St. John’s taking 2 hours and 55 minutes.

“We’ll go ice up first,” freshman hitter Riley Wagoner said, finishing with nine kills and eight digs. “We’ll take what we learned from today, play for our teammates and play together.”

Freshman hitter Hanna Helvig had 15 kills and freshman middle Amber Igiede added 11. She was in on seven blocks as well. Helvig’s 4-0 serving run in Set 5 keyed the victory, helping the Wahine turn an 8-7 deficit into an 11-8 lead.

Klara Mikelova led the Red Storm with 17 kills, Rachele Rastelli added 16 and Efrosini Alexakou 14 kills and 15 digs.

The seesaw battle that was Set 1 had eight ties and five lead changes. St. John’s pulled away at 22-19 only to have an ace by Rasmussen tie it at 23.

The Wahine held off two set points, taking one of their own at 26-25 on an ace by Wagoner. The Red Storm didn’t blink, scoring three straight on two kills by Mikelova and Alexekou.

Set 2 was equally tight, with nine ties and four lead changes. Leading 15-14, a 5-0 serving run by Choy had the Wahine up 21-14.

The highlight of Hawaii’s closing run was a solo block by the 6-foot Wagoner on St. John’s 6-4 opposite Rastelli. Senior setter Norene Iosia’s ace landed inside the back line to even the match.

Hawaii broke Set 3’s 11th tie (18-18) with kills from Tiffany Westerberg and Helvig. St. John’s used a Wahine service error and a kill from Rastelli to knot it for the 12th and final time at 20 … then added a kill and ace to take the lead for good at 22-20.

Hawaii held off two set points in closing to 24-23 but not a third as St. John’s took a 2-1 advantage.

The Wahine didn’t fold but did need three set points to force a fifth set for the second straight night, Rasmussen finally ending it with her 12th kill.

NO. 13 WASHINGTON 3, NO. 21 SAN DIEGO 1

Senior hitter Kara Bajema continued to make a case for the tournament’s most outstanding player, putting down a match-high 23 kills as the Huskies ran their record against the Toreros to 6-0.

Junior hitter Samantha Drechsel added 12 kills and senior libero Shayne McPherson finished with 18 digs. UW won the block battle 11.5-8, the Dawgs’ final stuff coming when senior middle Avie Niece and sophomore setter Ella May Powell teamed to block junior hitter Roxie Wiblin on UW’s fifth match point.

Senior hitter Thana Fayad led USD with 17 kills and Wiblin and sophomore opposite Grace Frohling each had 14.