Kanani Danielson was as spectacular as ever.

Elizabeth Ka'aihue again passed nails.

And Brittany Hewitt continued on the path to greatness hinted at last season.

Four months removed from a final-four appearance—and with five seniors removed from the roster—Hawaii returned more than enough to handle Arizona in last night's women's volleyball exhibition. A Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 1,963 saw Danielson put down 20 kills and transfer Chanteal Satele added 14 in the Rainbow Wahine's 25-19, 24-26, 26-24, 25-13 win over the Wildcats in an hour and 47 mintues.

Hewitt was in on all 10 of Hawaii's blocks, with two solo and eight assisted, and, “;She's going to be a force,”; Wahine coach Dave Shoji said. “;Individually, there were some good things going on out there.”;

One of them had to be the defense. Ka'aihue had 22 digs in three sets and setter Dani Mafua had 21, including 16 in the first two sets.

Arizona coach Dave Rubio pointed to three elements of Hawaii's game that stood out: Danielson, Mafua and the Wahine's ball-control.

“;Kanani ... she needs to be promoted as the (national) player of the year,”; Rubio said. “;She makes plays that ordinary volleyball players only dream of. She's one of those rare players who can elevate her game whenever she needs to.

“;Dani does a terrific job running that squad, putting the ball in attackable position. And Hawaii's ball control was superior, they're much further ahead than we are. It felt like a real match tonight and it was wonderful we got to experience this.”;

It was a glimpse of the future mixed in with the past, and that past included the officiating crew. Pressed into unexpected (and unpaid) officiating duties were former UH players Vernon Podlewski and Tom Pestolesi, the latter in town to watch his son, Tommy, play for Long Beach State against the Warriors tonight.

Perhaps having the most fun was Satele, who transferred from Saint Mary's this spring. Both her parents played for UH, father Alvis in football and mother Lee Ann on two NCAA championship volleyball teams.

“;It was more than I expected, more than I hoped for,”; said Satele, who put down the final two kills of Sets 3 and 4. “;I was a little nervous, but Dani was really good in talking me through it. We all got more comfortable as it went on.”;

“;I thought Chanteal was wonderful,”; Danielson added. “;Not once did we see her scared.

“;And Brittany is a big wall. I give her so much credit, the way she is able to move out there.”;

After Hawaii handled Arizona fairly easily in Set 1, the Wildcats came back in Set 2 for an early 13-11 lead. The 6-foot-4 Hewitt had a solo block of 6-3 Whitney Dosty and Danielson had one of her eight kills of the set to help the Wahine regain the lead at 17-15.

A kill from Satele and a net violation gave Hawaii set point at 24-22. Arizona fended off two Wahine attempts at ending it to tie at 24; the Wildcats capped a 4-0 run on kills by Tiffany Owens and Courtney Karst to even the match.

Arizona appeared well on its way to taking a 2-1 lead by pulling ahead at 24-20. It was Hawaii's turn to pull off an amazing rally and, in turn, perhaps finding a serving specialist for next season.

Behind redshirt junior Alexis Griffiths' bullet serves, the Wahine held off four set points, tying it at 24 when Owens hit wide. Satele pounded two kills through the Wildcats block, completing the improbable comeback.

With sophomore Emily Maeda getting a chance to wear the libero jersey and senior setter Stephanie Brandt making a guest appearance on the outside, the Wahine took control early in the deciding Set 4.

Brandt's kill capped a 5-0 run that had Hawaii jumping out to a 6-1 lead. Arizona put up a late charge to close to 17-11, but the Wahine were ready to call it a night, finishing it on an 8-2 run.

Karst and Owens led the Wildcats with 12 kills.