Hawai‘i 3, Colorado State 1
After dropping the first set, Hawai‘i won the next three to defeat Colorado State 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-18) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. With the win, the Rainbow Wahine advance to next weekend’s Honolulu Regional.
UH hit .192 on the match, compared to the .149 of the Rams. Hawai‘i also had more kills (54-40), assists (53-37), service aces (10-6) and digs (70-54). Both teams had 10 blocks.
Kanani Danielson posted her 20th double-double of the season, recording 22 kills along with a career-high 20 digs. Jane Croson also posted a career-high 20 digs while adding 11 kills. Emily Hartong posted 12 kills and five blocks and Emily Maeda added 14 digs.
Dana Cranston had 14 kills and 12 digs to lead Colorado State.
The Rams got out to an early set one lead. Three straight kills by Katelyn Steffan helped CSU to an early 8-4 advantage. The Rainbow Wahine rallied and, after a pair of kills by Chanteal Satele and another by Hartong, took an 11-10 lead. UH pushed to a 16-12 advantage on consecutive Hartong aces, but Colorado State went on a 7-1 run to take a 19-17 lead and close out the set.
Hawai‘i was up for the challenge and responded with a 25-22 set two win. UH held an early 5-2 lead but the remainder of the set was nip and tuck. The teams traded points until CSU appeared to unravel with a series of errors, giving Hawai‘i a 21-17 lead. UH held on to grab the win on kills by Satele and Croson, and headed to the intermission even with the Rams at one set apiece.
Set three was a different story, as UH overpowered Colorado State, 25-16. A pair of blocks by Hartong helped give Hawai‘i an early 7-2 lead, then the block party continued as Brittany Hewitt and Mita Uiato posted a pair of block assists to help the lead swell to 14-6. The momentum carried into the fourth set where UH earned a 25-18 win and a spot in the NCAA Honolulu Regional.
Joining Hawai‘i in the Regional are Pepperdine, Kansas State and USC. Pepperdine will play Kansas State at 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9. The Rainbow Wahine face USC at 7 p.m. The winners will play on Saturday for a spot in the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio, Texas.