It was a very cathartic 85 minutes.

That's how long it took for No. 3 Hawaii to sweep host Nevada last night and sweep away some of the embarrassment that had haunted the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team for nearly two days.

“;We played so badly on national television,”; Hawaii senior middle Amber Kaufman said of Thursday's less-than-impressive win at Fresno State. “;We had to go out and show we're a better team.”;

Kaufman did her part, putting down 10 kills and adding three aces as the Wahine won their 15th straight. Sophomore hitter Kanani Danielson had a match-high 15 kills and senior hitter Aneli Cubi-Otineru had 11, including that match-ender, in the 25-16, 25-20, 25-17 victory in Reno, Nev.

Hawaii (20-2, 10-0 Western Athletic Conference) concludes its road trip tomorrow at San Jose State (1-20, 1-9). Nevada (8-16, 4-17) was led by St. Francis graduate Kylie Harrington's 10 kills and eight digs.

“;I thought it was much smoother tonight,”; Rainbow Wahine coach Dave Shoji said after his team reached the 20-win mark for the 16th consecutive season. “;We were really on tonight and Dani (setter Mafua) got the middles involved, the offense was how we like it and Kanani had another good night.”;

“;Nevada is much improved from the last time we saw them. We played good defense. We're more concerned about how we play. The winning will take care of itself.”;

Shoji did make an adjustment to the lineup, flopping it so senior reserve setter/serving specialist Stephanie Brandt started in the back row in place of sophomore hitter Stephanie Ferrell, who has struggled lately.

“;Brandt's been scoring a lot with her serves, so that's why we changed the alignment,”; Shoji said. “;She got us off to a good start.”;

Brandt had two consecutive aces in helping the Wahine to a 3-1 lead in Set 1. By the time she went back to serve again, Hawaii was ahead 18-9.

Kaufman's 6-0 serving run in Set 2 put the Wahine ahead for good at 11-8. Brandt's 5-0 stay on the serving line made it 18-12, a stretch that included three consecutive block assists by freshman middle Brittany Hewitt.

Kaufman gave the Wahine a 2-0 lead with her second - and Hawaii's sixth - ace. She added another in Set 3 for a 14-12 lead; the Wahine's eighth ace came from junior Elizabeth Ka'aihue, setting up match point at 24-17.

Cubi-Otineru's final kill ended it.

Hawaii hit .394 to Nevada's .202 and outblocked the Wolf Pack 7-6. Ka'aihue, switching from libero to defensive specialist in Set 3, and Brandt each had seven digs.

WAC VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS

Yesterday
Hawaii def. Nevada, 25-16, 25-20, 25-17
Boise St. def. LaTech, 22-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-22
Fresno St. def. San Jose St., 27-29, 25-21, 25-20, 25-19
New Mexico St. def. Utah St., 31-29, 25-16, 25-21

Tomorrow
Hawaii at San Jose State, 5 p.m.

NO. 3 HAWAII DEF. NEVADA
25-16, 25-20, 25-17

Totals 3 51 14 94 .394 39 1 12 66.0

WOLF PACK (8-16, 4-7 WAC)

Totals 3 31 13 89 .202 25 1 10 38.0

Key - s: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct: hitting percentage; d: digs; bs: block solo; ba: block assists; pts: points (kills plus blocks plus aces)

Aces - Nevada (1): Link. Hawaii (8): Kaufman 3, Brandt 2, Ka'aihue 2, Mafua. Service Errors - Nevada (3): Baldwin, Kelly, Link. Hawaii (6): Cubi-Otineru 3, Kaufman 2, Lee. Assists - Nevada (29): Sei 25, Kelly 2, Harrington, Chang. Hawaii (48): Mafua 39, Lee 3, Danielson 2, Hewitt, Brandt, Cubi-Otineru, Ka'aihue.

T - 1:25. Officials - Bill Forrester, Kent Kitade. A - 686.