No. 1 Hawaii stared at a 14-9 Game 3 deficit then gave it the stink eye. Three lead-change blinks and seven game points later, unranked Santa Clara saw its chance of forcing a fourth game slip through its hands via a lift violation called on its setter Thira Icaza.
A crowd of 5,453 saw an anticlimactic end to a match that lacked drama until the final 45 minutes. The host Wahine walked away after 102 minutes with a 15-4, 15-3, 19-17 win and the title of the Aston's Imua Challenge.
The Broncos left the Special Events Arena with a well-earned moral victory.
"In my mind, we won that last game," said Santa Clara coach Annie Kniss Feller, a former Wahine assistant coach (1988-89) who questioned several officiating calls during the final going. "I never attribute a win or a loss to the referees but, when you come to Hawaii, you know you're going to win some and lose some (calls).
"I felt, at the end, the team was just used up in terms of hitting. We learned from this tournament and got one win (against Rhode Island Thursday) that was pretty unexpected. And it was nice to go to overtime with Hawaii."
Game 3 tied Hawaii's mark for the second-longest game in school history. The Wahine defeated UC Santa Barbara, 19-17, in 1985.
The longest game was a 22-20 Game 4 win over Utah State in 1978, a match eventually won in five by the Aggies.
It was the third consecutive tournament trophy for Hawaii (8-0), which has played six matches in the past 11 days. The top prize, according to Angelica Ljungquist, was showing character in winning Game 3 with a lineup of three freshmen and a first-year setter.
"At 14-9, I told the team, 'Let's show the coaches, the crowd and ourselves what a good lineup this is," said Ljungquist, named the tournament MVP. "Our second team is really good but hasn't put it all together yet. I think we proved ourselves and showed a lot of character in coming back."
Leading the way was freshman Heidi Ilustre, who served for four straight points as Hawaii closed the gap to 14-13. The Broncos had four chances to end the game, serving twice at 16-15, but couldn't put Hawaii away.
The Wahine's seventh attempt at aloha ball ended on the lift violation. It was Hawaii's sixth straight-set win out of its eight matches.
Ljungquist finished with 24 kills, hitting .455. Therese Crawford, joining her teammate on the all-tournament team, added 12 kills.
The third all-tourney selection from Hawaii was setter Robyn Ah Mow, who had 23 assists and 10 digs before giving way to backup Nikki Hubbert in Game 3.
Rounding out the all-tournament team was Kamehameha Schools' product Auli'i Ellis (13 kills) and Jaime Elson (13 kills) from Santa Clara; Rhode Island's Lauren Maseli and Jill Haas of Sacramento State, the tournament's kill leader (71).
Hawaii coach Dave Shoji was happy to give his younger players game experience but felt the team, overall, made too many unforced errors. He said the Wahine need to dominate teams instead of playing down to a lower level.
"In Game 3, our tempo was different and we struggled to get a rhythm," said Shoji, who played everyone on the roster who was healthy except defensive specialist Lori Higashida. "Bringing in Nikki is like bringing in a new pitcher or a new quarterback. It's not Nikii's fault that we looked a little ragged, she's not used to setting our first team.
"But we need to see these (reserve) players out there and need to develop them (in matches) whenever we have the chance. If we get some injuries, these are the players who will go in."
With two starters on the bench with injuries - Joselyn Robins (ankle) and Nalani Yamashita (shins) - Shoji dug deep into his bench, giving Ilustre her first collegiate start. Starting for a second night was freshman walk-on Aven Lee while freshmen Kapu Elkington and Jennifer Roberts got considerable playing time.
"It's all been very overwhelming for me," said Ilustre, who had eight kills and a team-high 13 digs. "I was very nervous when serving (at the end). I just wanted to get my serves in."
Hawaii has the day off today before preparing for nonconference matches with California Friday and Saturday. Shoji said he hoped to have Robins and Yamashita back at practice by Wednesday.