Maybe this is a different type of team. One that can weather adversity, shake off an 0-5 hole and a couple calls that didn't go its way.

Maybe it's one that truly is able to take the words of associate coach Mike Sealy to heart: “;Don't take away energy, give energy.”;

Whatever is different about this year's Hawaii team, it's more than working. The Rainbow Wahine are off to their first 3-0 start since 2004 ... coincidentally, the last time they beat UCLA.

By national rankings, last night's 25-23, 25-18, 25-22 victory by No. 7 Hawaii over No. 9 UCLA won't be considered an upset. But don't tell that to the 4,870 mostly pro-Wahine fans in the Stan Sheriff Center.

Beating the Bruins has been a long time coming. The only player around the last time was senior libero Jayme Lee, who was a redshirt freshman when Hawaii pulled out a five-set marathon win.

And a sweep? Sweet. That hasn't happened since 2000, the year before complete rally scoring was instituted.

“;Speaking on behalf of all the seniors, it is just awesome,”; said senior hitter Aneli Cubi-Otineru, one of three Wahine named to the Chevron Invitational all-tournament team. “;Beating UCLA has been our goal.

“;We knew it would be a tough game, not handed to us. We had to follow the game plan and stay disciplined. Even when we were down 5-0 (in Set 3) we knew we just needed to play sideout volleyball. Sure enough, we started earning real points.”;

The 94 minutes was a microcosm of how Hawaii has played in its three matches: steady when it counted (Santa Clara), dominating (Western Michigan) and gutsy (UCLA). Again leading the way was sophomore hitter Kanani Danielson—named the most outstanding player—who finished with a match-high 16 kills, four of those coming after going down with a turned ankle with the Wahine leading 21-12 in Set 2.

Danielson returned for the final three plays of the set, the rout punctuated by senior Amber Kaufman's first kill of the match on set point.

The Bruins came out of the break not ready to see their four-match winning streak in Honolulu end quite yet. Faster than one could say “;bad rotation,”; UCLA opened Set 3 with a 5-0 lead behind the serving of freshman setter Lauren Cook.

The Wahine didn't blink. By the time their third server—Cubi-Otineru—went to the back line, UH only trailed 8-7.

Cubi-Otineru's fifth and final ace tied it and sparked a 4-0 run that put the Wahine ahead for good. Her solo stuff of Kaitlin Sather made it 18-14.

Helped by two controversial calls, UCLA closed to 22-20, but Kaufman put down two kills, and a Bruins hitting error ended an arena-load of frustration.

Stephanie Ferrell finished with 14 kills for the Wahine, while Dicey McGraw had 12 for the Bruins.

No. 25 Santa Clara 3, Western Michigan 2

Either way, the Broncos were going to pick up their first victory of the season in the third-place match. It ended up being the Broncos from Santa Clara, 19-25, 25-14, 18-25, 25-17, 15-11.