CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Utah State swept Hawaii at the Stan Sheriff Center last night, giving UH its first WAC home loss since it joined the conference in 1996.

Aggies deflate Wahine

The alarm clock wore blue and white. With the emphasis on 'alarm.'

Looking nothing like the 10th-ranked volleyball team in the country, Hawaii was simply outplayed by Utah State last night, stumbling for the first time in Western Athletic Conference play this season and the first time EVER in 98 home WAC matches.

A Stan Sheriff Center turnstile crowd of 4,638 (6,708) saw history, none of it good for the Rainbow Wahine (21-5, 15-1), who lost to an unranked WAC team for the first time in 12 conference seasons. It also was Hawaii's first home conference loss since falling to UC Santa Barbara in 1994, a streak of 108 straight wins coming to a stunning halt after 2 hours.

It was so stunning that Utah State coach Grayson DuBose was trying to process the reality some 20 minutes after Melissa Osterloh's ninth kill on an overpass assured the Aggies upset. It also gave Utah State (17-12, 11-5) the third seed in this week's WAC tournament in Las Cruces, N.M.

"I was an assistant here when we beat BYU in 2000, and that was the first time we beat them in 20 years," he said. "For me, this compares right up there with that win -- as a coach it's as satisfying one as that.

"It's a real confirmation of the commitment this team has made, to being able to sideout and be steady for long periods of times. We didn't get rattled, allowed our system to work. It's a great win for the program, a great win for our kids."

And the first over Hawaii since 1981, a drought over the last 22 meetings.

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Aneli Cubi-Otineru pounded down a kill, one of a team-high 16, but UH lost to Utah State in the WAC regular-season finale.

"It shows what we need to work on; it's a lesson learned," Hawaii hitter Aneli Cubi-Otineru said after a team-high 16 kills. "They (the Aggies) played awesome, playing great defense. Things just kind of broke down.

"We need to work on our imperfections, be more mentally tough."

The breakdowns came all night, sometimes in the middle of games, but mostly at the critical junctures at the ends of all three. With junior hitter Jamie Houston having an off night (10 kills, nine errors) Hawaii struggled to put an offense together at critical points.

What looked like the start of another cruise-control night in Game 1 -- holding a 20-12 lead -- turned into a battle that Hawaii lost. At 28-28, the Aggies scored the final two points on a hitting error by Cubi-Otineru and the ninth of Amanda Nielson's 17 kills. It was the first time Hawaii had dropped a game in WAC play in nine matches, going back to Game 3 against Fresno State.

Even a switch at setter -- Dani Mafua for Stephanie Brandt -- didn't change the outcome for the Wahine. Cubi-Otineru's eighth kill gave Hawaii a shot to end it at 29-28 only to have the Aggies score three straight points. Two kills by Nielson sandwiched a hitting error by Tara Hittle gave Utah State a 2-0 lead going into the break.

Hawaii led late in Game 3, going ahead at 26-23, the last point on a dig by Jayme Lee going over for a kill. But Brandt, back in at setter, was called for a questionable lift -- questionable enough for Wahine coach Dave Shoji to earn a yellow card after tossing his clipboard.

The Wahine still led at 27-26, only to have the Aggies score the last four points, two on blocks, one when Houston was called for an illegal back-row attack, the last on Osterloh's kill.

"We got what we deserved," said Shoji, his team outblocked 13.5-6. "Once you put it into neutral, it's really hard to get yourself back into it.

"It's certainly not what we wanted to happen. If there is such a thing as a good loss, this is it. It proves that we're not at a level that we think we might be, and we're probably not as good as we think we are.

"We're not a good team when (Houston's) off. We have to have her playing at a high level. Tonight she was frustrated and never worked herself out of it. She let her frustrations dictate her play."