Hawaiian bracelets and a quick victory. No. 3 Hawaii doubled up on presents last night with reminders of how dominant the Rainbow Wahine can be in Western Athletic Conference play.

Behind sophomore hitter Kanani Danielson's 15 kills, Hawaii swept Fresno State in 76 minutes, 25-19, 25-11, 25-13. A Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 5,227 saw the Rainbow Wahine move within one victory of clinching at least a tie for their 14th consecutive regular-season WAC title as well as receive their commemorative bracelets as the 2008 WAC champions.

Hawaii (22-2, 12-0 WAC) also received some vindication for last week's poor play at Fresno State.

“;I think it woke us up,”; said senior middle Amber Kaufman, adding eight kills on .467 hitting. “;In my four years here, we've never played well in that gym.”;

The Wahine also got a wake-up call after a sluggish Set 1 in which the Bulldogs hung around until late. Hawaii has had slow starts in Set 2 this season “;and we got reminded by the coaches that, hey, this is the second set, don't let them get by us,”; Danielson said.

Hawaii more than found its rhythm when switching sides, catching Fresno State at 4-4 and using a 5-0 serving stint by Stephanie Brandt to pull away for good at 8-4. At 12-6, Kaufman put down four of the Wahine's next five kills to expand the lead to 17-7 and Danielson drilled her 10th kill down the line to cap an 8-4 closing run.

The Bulldogs again stayed close early, with a block of Cubi-Otineru pulling them to 5-3. The Wahine then pulled away, getting four kills by Danielson during a 15-6 run en route to running their series lead over the Bulldogs to 46-0.

“;I think we did a nice job starting Game 2. It sometimes takes us a while to get into the flow of the game,”; Shoji said. “;Kanani certainly played well in the second. Her stats keep going up, which is something we need out of her.”;

As for tomorrow's senior night, which has UH facing Utah State (14-12, 4-8) for the first time this season?

“;We know it's going to be emotional and we have to focus,”; Shoji said. “;We lost this (final home) match to the same team two years ago. If we can win, then we can celebrate.”;

Fresno State (12-12, 5-7) wasn't celebrating as it did after taking a set off Hawaii last Thursday.

“;Our skills are not good enough to play consistently, and our setting was suspect tonight,”; Bulldogs coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell said. “;Hawaii performed better tonight because we didn't put any pressure on them. If their passing is on, our defense isn't strong enough to keep up with them.

“;At home we served tough. Tonight, they didn't have to do much to beat us.”;

Kelli Parker had seven kills to lead FSU but hit .000

Hawaii won the defensive battle with a 44-28 edge in digs, led by Aneli Cubi-Otineru's nine.

Tomorrow's 5 p.m. match against Utah State is the last home contest for the regular season. Unless the NCAA awards UH hosting duties for the first and second rounds, it will be the final appearance in the Sheriff Center of the season.

Note

Following tomorrow's senior night ceremony, Shoji will be available for an autograph session on the concourse near Rainbowtique. Limited edition 1,000-win volleyballs will be on sale for $20—$15 off the regular price—with a portion of the proceeds going to the Rainbow Wahine Volleyball Foundation.