GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Preseason WAC Player of the Year Jamie Houston had 15 kills for Hawaii, while Aneli Cubi-Otineru had 13 kills and a team-high 17 digs.

Wahine survive in 5

No. 11 Hawaii was looking to rebound after last Sunday's disappointing loss to UCLA.

No. 12 Minnesota was looking to prove how good it could be after three fairly easy wins last weekend at Creighton.

To no one's surprise, the evenly matched teams needed five sets to determine it last night at the Stan Sheriff Center. Led by freshman Kanani Herring's 21 kills and a 4-0 serving run by Tara Hittle, the Rainbow Wahine prevailed 25-22, 21-25, 25-19, 23-25, 15-7 in the second match of the Volleyball Challenge

A turnstile crowd of 3,519 (5,564 tickets sold) saw Hawaii (2-2) run its series record to 7-0 against Minnesota (3-1).

In the opener, Cincinnati needed 86 minutes to turn back Wyoming 17-25, 25-9, 25-18, 25-14. The Cowgirls (0-4) take on the Wahine in tonight's single contest at 7.

"I think it was hard to swallow that we didn't come through in the second and fourth games," said Herring, who turned in her second straight double-double by finishing with 16 digs. "We loosened up, just had fun, which is what we should have been doing."

Getting in on the party were junior Aneli Cubi-Otineru (13 kills, 17 digs), senior Jamie Houston (15 kills) and junior Amber Kaufman (12 kills, five blocks).

"They were huge," Kaufman said of Minnesota's block that averaged 6-foot-3.

Led by Lauren Gibbemeyer's 10 blocks, the Golden Gophers finished with a 14-7 edge. But it was the Wahine defense, with 69 digs, that came through.

So did Hawaii's serving. At 4-2 in Set 5, Hittle started her serving run with an ace; when she was done, it was 8-2 and "that's a big hole," Minnesota coach Mike Hebert said. "I think Hawaii's serving and their left-side dominance were the difference in the match.

"I thought we gave a good accounting of ourselves in the first four games. The fifth game ... if I knew the answer, I'd be a genius and I'm a not. Some of our mistakes were bizarre ones, ones we weren't making earlier."

Minnesota got as close as 11-5 when Kaufman was blocked by the 6-4 Kyla Roehrig.

Cubi-Otineru put down her 13th kill to give Hawaii match point at 14-6. Brook Dieter kept Minnesota's hopes alive for one swing with her 13th kill but then hit long to end it.

"I think we got off to a great start in the fifth game," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "There were no huge adjustments, we started what was our best lineup to score.

"We played good defense last week but couldn't convert. Tonight we converted. This is a huge win for us."

The Golden Gophers play two tomorrow, taking on Cincinnati at 11 a.m., followed by the match against Wyoming. The tournament concludes with the Hawaii-Cincinnati match at 5 p.m. Sunday.

Hawaii pulled away in Set 1 at 20-16 only to have Minnesota tie it at 20. The Wahine used a service error, a block of Pamela Luiz by Houston and Kaufman and a smart tip shot from the back row by Herring for a 23-20 lead.

Minnesota wouldn't go away, scoring two straight, including a stuff of Houston. Hawaii came back with a block and a UM hitting error for the win.

The Golden Gophers again rallied late in Set 2, this time successfully. The Wahine led 20-18, only to have Minnesota go on a 6-0 run to take set point en route to evening the match.

Hawaii was in control for most of Set 3, helped by kills from Herring and Kaufman. Herring ended it with her 13th kill.

Momentum again traded sides with the teams, with Minnesota leading by as much as 23-19, helped by a couple of UH net violations. The Wahine held off two set points, with Cubi-Otineru putting down a kill and Herring coming up with a solo stuff of Gibbemeyer, to close to 24-23.

Gibbemeyer would not be denied on her 30th swing, putting down her 11th kill to force Set 5.

No. 11 Hawaii def. No. 12 Minnesota
25-22, 21-25, 25-19, 23-25, 15-7