In a word, untouchable.

It pretty much summed up Hawaii's offense last night after battering Idaho at the Stan Sheriff Center. The fourth-ranked Rainbow Wahine shredded the No. 2-rated block in the country with a combination of quickness and power in only 80 minutes.

As 4,847 watched, Hawaii hit an efficient .374—including an outrageous .640 in Set 2—to sweep Idaho 25-13, 25-11, 25-19 in a Western Athletic Conference volleyball match. Stephanie Ferrell put down 12 kills and Aneli Cubi-Otineru 11 kills and three aces for the Rainbow Wahine (11-2, 2-0 WAC) in their seventh consecutive sweep.

“;It was a really good win for us,”; Ferrell said. “;We maintained our hitting all the way through and kept the tempo going.

“;Tonight, we all played together. The team chemistry was there. Kanani (Danielson) wasn't as strong, but we picked up the slack. Everyone worked hard, got the job done.”;

Danielson, who missed Thursday's win over Boise State with the flu, had seven kills. It was well off her team-leading 3.97 kps average.

“;Idaho is a good team and going in we just knew we had to play our game, be in our system and stay disciplined,”; added UH setter Dani Mafua, tying her career high with four kills and finishing with a career-high five block assists. “;I was focusing on moving the ball all over the place, not having one set person. They had to guess where we were going.

“;This gives us a lot of confidence, gets the ball rolling for our first road trip.”;

After five weeks at home, Hawaii leaves Tuesday night and will play Louisiana Tech on Thursday and New Mexico State on Saturday.

As for the anticipated block party last night? It happened mostly on the Wahine's side of the net. They finished with a 9-5 edge, including the match-ender when Lex Forsythe and Cat Fowler teamed to reject Sarah Conwell.

The Vandals stuffed Amber Kaufman to make it 1-1 in Set 1. They didn't have another block until Conwell and Debbie Pederson blocked Ferrell at 21-9 in Set 2, Hawaii's only hitting error of the set.

“;We looked like we were beat in that second set,”; said coach Debbie Buchanan after her team dropped to 5-8 and 1-1. “;You just keep telling them to keep fighting. We have nothing to lose.

“;When you don't pass the ball, it's hard to run an offense. They were serving our outside hitters, which was smart. It's what good teams do. When you're breaking down in one area, they keep putting pressure on it. I think it's the best Hawaii team we've faced in a few years.”;

Idaho did regroup in Set 3, pulling to within 15-13 with a block of Cubi-Otineru, her first hitting error in 20 swings. But just as they had all match, the Wahine found another gear mid-set and simply pulled away.

Conwell, who had 19 kills against San Jose State on Thursday, finished with eight last night, all coming after Set 1.

“;I thought we played really well for two games,”; Wahine coach Dave Shoji said. “;It was like you hoped you would play, like you draw it up before the match.

“;Everything was clicking. Our defense was solid, our block was solid, we ran transitions and I think they (the Vandals) got a little frustrated when they couldn't score.”;

Hawaii won the dig war 43-29, with libero Elizabeth Ka'aihue finishing with 16.

“;I thought Hawaii played great,”; Buchanan said. “;Our blocking wasn't there and they were passing everything.”;

LaTech breaks through

Last night, the Lady Techsters (11-6, 1-0) won their first WAC season opener in nine years of membership—and just their second WAC match in three seasons—by outlasting Utah State 25-22, 26-24, 22-25, 20-25, 15-6. It was the first conference win for LaTech since defeating Boise State in five on Sept. 29, 2007, a string of 27 consecutive losses.

“;Tech is better, and tonight they beat one of the better teams in the WAC,”; Shoji said. “;That will get our team's attention.

“;This was a good send-off. You hope you can play this well on the road. Sometimes you do, but it's not a given.”;