By: Wichita State
Box Score HONOLULU, Hawaii ? No. 16 Hawaii (5-3) rallied for a thrilling five-game win over Wichita State (5-3) in the Waikiki Beach Marriott Volleyball Challenge. The Rainbow Wahine won by scores of 27-30, 28-30, 30-22, 30-19 and 15-12.
Sara Lungren led the Shockers with 17 kills and also added 14 digs. Abby Harsh had 58 assists, while Kelly Broussard had 34 digs.
Hawaii jumped out to a 15-11 lead in game one. The Shockers came back to tie it at 17, but gave up three-straight points to fall behind 20-17. The Rainbow Wahine continued to lead until the Shockers again tied it at 22 on a kill by Angela Jakubov. WSU took the lead at 23-22 on a UH hitting error and the teams went back-and-forth until the Shockers took a 28-25 lead on a block by Abby Harsh. UH responded with two-straight points, but WSU reached game point at 29-27 on a kill by Emily Stockman and won the game 30-27 on a kill by Amanda Moore.
The Shockers took a 9-5 lead in game two and increased it to 13-8 on a block by Sara Lungren and Katie Niggemeyer. UH went on a 3-0 run to pull within 13-11, but the Shockers responded with a 4-1 run to go up 17-12. The teams traded points until UH pulled to within 23-21 after a 5-1 run. With the score tied at 27, a Niggemeyer kill gave WSU a 28-27 lead and a Niggemeyer/Lungren block brought the Shocks to game point at 29-27. A UH kill made the score 29-28, but a Lungren kill gave the Shocks a 30-28 win.
The Rainbow Wahine raced out to a 12-7 lead in game three and continued to lead late in the game by taking a 23-16 advantage. UH won game three 30-22.
Hawaii again started strong in game four taking a 13-3 lead and the Shockers never threatened in the 30-19 win.
In game five, UH took an early 5-1 lead and increased it to 7-2. The Shockers pulled to within 8-6 after a kill by Stockman, but the Rainbow Wahine scored two-straight to go up 10-6. UH went on to win the game 15-12.
The Shockers finish the tournament with a match against Eastern Washington at 10 p.m. on Saturday.
-Wichita State-