Wahine Fall to Huskies, Season Ends in Seattle
By MauiNow Staff
The season came to end for the University of Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team, losing to Washington 20-25, 25-20, 19-25, 27-25, 15-11 on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.
Emily Hartong was magnificent for the ‘Bows (27-3), burying 30 kills and posting 14 digs. Jane Croson recorded 20 kills and 14 digs, and Ali Longo dug 17 balls for the second straight night.
The Huskies (25-6) had a well balanced attack with Krista Vansant, Kylin Munoz, and Cassie Strickland recording 16, 15, and 13 kills, respectively.
The ‘Bows looked prime to move in to the NCAA Regional when they captured set three and led in the early going of set four. Late in the set though, the ‘Bows had to stave off four match points before earning one of their own. Hartong’s attack was thwarted at the net and UW scored the next three points and grabbed the win.
Mita Uiato had 10 digs and four blocks to go along with her 62 assists, and senior Emily Maeda had a solid performance (10 digs) in her final match as a Rainbow.
Hartong started off the match on fire with 11 kills in the first set, failing to bury only three of her 14 attempts. She keyed the Hawai’i attack as the ‘Bows grabbed the early lead in the match.
After UW responded with a solid win of their own, Hawai’i showed a gritty side in set three in taking a 2-1 lead. With sensational digs and kills out of system, the ‘Bows started to distance themselves when they pushed the lead to 14-9. The teams battled back and forth but Hawai’i never gave up its lead. A Croson ace and a block assist and dump kill by Uiato helped seal the deal and put UH just one set from victory, but it was not to be as the Huskies rallied to win the next two sets.