CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii's Susie Boogaard hit the ball past a pair of UCLA players at the Stan Sheriff Center last night.

Wahine keep edge
over rival Bruins

It was intensely heated and competitive, just like the other 61 times. Just like a rivalry four decades old should be.

Two longtime heavyweights in women's volleyball battled for 2 hours and 17 minutes last night for the championship of the Waikiki Beach Marriott Challenge. When the smoke cleared in the Stan Sheriff Center, it was No. 7 Hawaii left standing with the trophy and a fourth straight win over No. 10 UCLA.

A balanced attack from antenna to antenna -- led by freshman outside Jamie Houston's 17 kills -- helped push the Rainbow Wahine to a 24-30, 30-25, 30-24, 30-26 victory over the Bruins, ending UCLA's unbeaten season for the second year in a row. A vocal season-high crowd of 7,186 (8,499 tickets) saw Hawaii improve to 5-3 overall, 2-3 against ranked teams, while UCLA slipped to 5-1.

Two former Pac-10 players came back to haunt the Bruins -- Sarah Mason (Oregon) getting a season-high 14 kills and two aces, while tournament MVP Victoria Prince (Washington State), playing against her former setter Brenn Larson, added 11 kills.

Sophomore Juliana Sanders added 12 kills and was in on seven blocks as the Wahine improved to 34-28 in the series with the Bruins dating back to 1974.

UCLA, which started three freshmen, got 21 kills from first-year player Kaitlin Sather and 17 from sophomore Rachell Johnson. Junior Nana Meriwether finished with 17 kills.

In last night's first match, Cincinnati finished third with a 28-30, 30-25, 30-24, 30-23 win over Cal State Northridge.

"It was a hard-fought match, an evenly played match, an exciting match," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "I thought it was a very important match for both teams in terms of establishing yourselves as a good team.

"Our serving helped us win that match. We certainly fought hard through some adversity and didn't panic."

The young Bruins lost focus during a critical stretch in the deciding Game 4, seeing a 20-20 tie turn into a 27-21 deficit. Meriwether got freed up in the middle, putting down two kills during a 4-0 run that helped UCLA close to 28-25.

But serving was UCLA's downfall, first a serving error by freshman Jordan Smith that gave Hawaii match point, followed by Susie Boogaard's ace that landed untouched in the right corner.

The Wahine finished with nine aces, four in Game 4. They got two each from Boogaard, Kamana'o, Mason and Ashley Watanabe, one from Prince.

"Both teams had a lot of energy," Mason said. "We pulled together at the end, stayed more consistent. We've had a lot of changes in our lineups and that forces people to come together.

"I think we've responded to the adversity and it's nice to know that all the hard work ends with a good result."

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii's Jamie Houston edged the ball over the net in front of UCLA's Kaitlin Sather to give Hawaii a 25-20 lead during the second game of last night's match at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Cincinnati 3, Cal State Northridge 1

Maria Pongonis added 16 kills and 23 of the team's 90 digs, while Erin Maldo had 11 kills for Cincinnati (2-4). Freshman libero Melissa Zenz broke the tournament record for digs in a single match by two with 29.

For CSUN (2-7) Darla Donaldson finished with 17 kills and Jenn Probert 13.

All-Tournament team: Juliana Sanders, Kanoe Kamana'o and MVP Victoria Prince, Hawaii; Nana Meriwether and Kaitlin Sather, UCLA; Melissa Zenz, Cincinnati; Darla Donaldson, CSUN.

Notes: Hawaii is 32-1 in this event, winning 10 of 11 titles. The Wahine ran their record in four-game matches against UCLA to 10-11. ... It was Mason's first win over the Bruins after going 0-4 against them in her two years with the Ducks. ... Kanoe Kamana'o has moved into fourth place in the school record book in assists, passing Jen Carey

Hawaii def. UCLA

24-30, 30-25, 30-24, 30-26

Bruins (5-1, 2-1 WBMC)
	g	k	e	att	pct.	bs	ba	d
Spicer	4	1	0	3	.333	0	0	3
Sather	4	21	5	50	.320	0	1	8
Meriwether	4	16	4	26	.462	0	4	3
Johnson	4	17	8	35	.257	0	4	7
Schoen	2	2	2	11	.000	0	6	2
Lyman	4	6	4	24	.083	0	4	13
Barba	3	0	0	7	.000	1	3	1
Larson	4	2	1	4	.250	0	0	6
Socci	1	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0
Carter	4	0	1	11	-.091	0	4	2
Smith	4	0	0	0	.000	0	0	17
Kroneberger	1	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0
Totals	4	65	25	171	.234	1	26	62
Rainbow Wahine (5-3, 3-0 WBMC)
	g	k	e	att	pct.	bs	ba	d
Sanders	4	12	4	20	.400	1	6	0
Boogaard	4	8	4	27	.148	0	4	8
Houston	4	17	8	43	.209	0	2	2
Kamana'o	4	2	0	6	.333	0	1	8
Prince	4	11	3	25	.320	0	3	5
Mason	4	14	7	34	.206	1	2	8
Hittle	4	0	0	0	.000	0	0	12
Watanabe	4	0	1	1	-1.000	0	0	11
Thurlby	2	0	1	1	-1.000	0	0	4
Ong	4	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0
Totals	4	64	28	157	.229	2	18	58

Key -- g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
Aces -- UCLA (4): Merriwether, Sather, Schoen, Spicer. Hawaii (9): Boogaard 2, Kamana'o 2, Mason 2, Watanabe 2, Prince. Assists -- UCLA (63): Spicer 40, Larson 14, Lyman 5, Smith 2, Carter, Sather. Hawaii (59): Kamana'o 55, Boogaard 3, Watanabe.
T -- 2:17. Officials -- Dan Hirokawa, Wayne Lee. A -- 7,186.