Bruins easily beat Wahine

Kari Gregory says Hawaii will rise above its "issues"

This was a chance for redemption, not just in their own eyes but on the national scene. Instead, No. 7 Hawaii left the Stan Sheriff Center with more questions than answers, as well as a third-place finish in the 19th Hawaiian Airlines Classic.

UCLA Hawaii 3 0 Next up vs. Fairfield, Thursday

"We know the season is going to be full of ups and downs, Rainbow Wahine setter Kanoe Kamana'o said after last night's 30-19, 30-26, 30-24 loss to No. 10 UCLA. "We just need to take advantage when we're up and, when we're down, keep on battling."

Hawaii (3-2) was able to win mini-wars with UCLA (6-0), but not the bigger battles over the 91 minutes. As happened with Florida on Friday, the Wahine gave up strings of points, most times coming right after staging a rally that either put them ahead or got them close.

A crowd of 6,200 (7,793 tickets) rode the roller coasters that were Games 2 and 3. A Game 2 lead of 24-23 turned into a 27-24 deficit, the 19-19 tie in Game 3 quickly turned into being down by one point, then four points then six at the end.

"We have weaknesses that are preventing us from winning those," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "I thought we were right in Games 2 and 3 tonight, then we self-destructed. It's very disturbing.

"Initially it's the other team making a good play and, then instead of us coming right back with a sideout, we have breakdowns at critical times."

Hawaii ended up out-blocking UCLA 9-6, but seven of those came in Game 3. The Wahine never quite figured out Bruins hitter Katie Carter (21 kills), and when they did slow her down, setter Nellie Spicer went to middle Nana Meriwether (12 kills, five in Game 3) with equal success.

The victory gave UCLA its seventh Classic title and snapped a four-game losing streak against Hawaii.

The Wahine were led by Jamie Houston's 14 kills and Kari Gregory's 10 kills, .450 hitting percentage and five blocks.

"It's going to come," Gregory said. We know our weaknesses. I don't think we're comfortable playing with each other yet. I don't want to make excuses, we have issues, but we're a great team and it's going to come."

The learning curve continues this week with the Waikiki Beach Marriott Challenge. Hawaii faces Fairfield on Thursday, Northwestern on Friday and No. 4 Stanford on Sunday.

UCLA coach Andy Banachowski said he was very pleased with his team.

"The win over Florida made believers out of ourselves," he said. "You don't know how good you are until you have to step it up against a team like Florida or Hawaii."

Florida 3, Colorado 0

The No. 5 Gators (4-1) rebounded from Saturday's stunning sweep by UCLA to sweep the Buffaloes (1-3) in 91 minutes yesterday, 30-19, 30-21, 31-29.

Colorado made things interesting at the end of Game 3, after coach Pi'i Aiu pulled senior setter Ashley Nu'u and went with the taller freshmen Kaitlyn Burkett. The Buffs rallied late with four unanswered points and held off one match point but not a second.

Amber McCray and Kelsey Bowers stuffed Amber Sutherland for the Gators' 14th block to end it.

Kisya Killingsworth led Florida with 14 kills and five blocks, and Bowers added 13 kills and was in on six blocks. Alex Buth led Colorado with 11 kills.

Notes: Shoji said next year's HAL Classic field will include UCLA, Kansas State and Louisville. ... According to the Provo (Utah) Daily Herald, the Brigham Young men's volleyball program is being investigated by the NCAA. Tom Peterson, who led the Cougars to the 2004 national title, resigned "effective immediately" Thursday. Many in the volleyball community believe -- as happened with Hawaii and Lewis -- the infractions involve international players. If the Cougars were to be stripped of their title, it would mean the championship will have been vacated for three consecutive years, starting with Hawaii (2002) and then Lewis (2003).

All-tournament team: Nellie Spicer and Katie Carter, UCLA; Marcie Hampton and Angie McGinnis, Florida; Tara Hittle, Hawaii; Alex Buth, Colorado.

Most Outstanding: Nana Meriwether, UCLA

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