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Victoria Prince, Hawaii
Tournament MVP |
Related Material
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Tournament Bracket.pdf
UH def. SMU, 3-0
FS def. BSU, 3-0
UN def. SJSU, 3-0
RU def. TU, 3-0
UH def. FS, 3-1
UN def. RU, 3-1
UH def. UN, 3-1
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RENO, Nev. The No. 2 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (26-0) 30-21, 28-30, 30-22 and 30-27 the Nevada Wolf Pack (20-8) to win their fifth-straight WAC Tournament title at the Virginia Street Gym Sunday.
For a printable bracket and tournament box scores, click on the .pdf to the right.
Victoria Prince continued her amazing tournament with 16 kills, seven digs, two aces and a .577 hitting percentage. Prince finished the tournament hitting .657, earning the WAC Tournament's MVP. Susie Boogaard added 19 kills and 10 digs while Alicia Arnott had 17 kills, 11 digs and six blocks. Tara Hittle added 14 kills and a .310 hitting percentage while Ashley Watanabe broke the WAC Tournament record with five aces and 11 digs.
Hawai`i came out with an inspired effort at the start of game one, taking a 9-4 edge on an ace by Watanabe, forcing Nevada Head Coach Devin Scruggs to use an early timeout. The Rainbow Wahine continued their domination, as Boogaard put away five kills in a 14-4 UH run that made it 20-8. But the Wolf Pack would get their run as they reeled off 11 of the next 14 points to cut it to a 23-18 Hawai`i lead. But Boogaard again stepped up, putting away three more kills to start a 7-2 run that gave UH the match 30-21. The Rainbow Wahine hit a blistering .400 in game one to Nevadas .136.
Nevada turned it up to start the second game, jumping out to a 9-4 lead. The Pack got their edge as high as 20-11 before a huge 10-2 Hawai`i run, highlighted by four blocks by Prince, made it 22-21. After three-straight Nevada points, the Rainbow Wahine went on a 5-2 run, again pulling within a point at 27-26. An ace by Karen Adams gave Nevada game point at 29-26. Hawai`i was able to fight off one two game points with a kill by Hittle and a block by Prince and Hittle. But they fell one short as Karly Sipherd got a kill in the middle, ending it a 30-28.
Game three was a battle in the beginning. Nevada used a quick four-point run to go up 9-6, only to see UH score five straight to make it 11-9 in favor of the Rainbow Wahine. It was nip-and-tuck for a while as the teams forced an 18-18 tie. But that is when Hawai`i took over, as Watanabe served a 9-0 run, including two big aces, putting them up 27-18 before putting it away 30-22.
The Wolf Pack opened the fourth game with a 6-3. Nevada kept their slight edge at 12-10 before a big 6-0 run made it 16-12 in favor of Hawai`i. The Pack responded with a 5-1 run to tie it a 17 apiece. It was tight all the way, with a key four-point Hawai`i run pushing the Rainbow Wahine to a 26-21 lead. Nevada was able to hold off two championship points, but a UN service error ended it at 30-21.
WAC All-Tournament Team
OH - Christianna Reneau, Fresno State
MB - Cameron Flunder, Boise State
MB - Tessa Kuykendall, Rice
S - Tristin Adams, Nevada
MB - Karly Sipherd, Nevada
OH - Carly Sorensen, Nevada
MB - Salaia Salave'a, Nevada
OH - Alicia Arnott, Hawaii
S - Kanoe Kamana'o, Hawaii
L - Ashley Watanabe, Hawaii
OH - Susie Boogaard, Hawaii
OH - Victoria Prince, Hawaii (MVP)
Tournament Schedule
Reno, Nevada (Nevada, Host)
Friday, November 19
Quarterfinals
(1) Hawaii def. (8) SMU, 3-0
(5) Fresno State def. (4) Boise State, 3-0
(3) Nevada def. (6) San Jose State, 3-0
(2) Rice def. (7) Tulsa, 3-0
Saturday, November 20
Semifinals
(1) Hawaii def. (5) Fresno State, 3-1
(3) Nevada def. (2) Rice, 3-1
Sunday, November 21
Championship
Championship Match
(1) Hawaii def. (3) Nevada, 3-1