UH rediscovers itself

Hawaii transformed itself back into the country’s ninth-ranked volleyball team to shake off San Diego State in the 18th annual Verizon Challenge on Friday.

The Rainbow Wahine (6-1) began as badly as they ended in Sunday’s loss against Cal, but battled back for a 22-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-15 win.

They got 21 kills from Jane Croson in a comeback of major proportions. But, on a rare bad night from Emily Hartong in front of the service line, it might have been the supporting cast that salvaged this one in front of 4,994 at Stan Sheriff Center.

Middles Jade Vorster and Kalei Adolpho rediscovered Hawaii’s block, as did Kaela Goodman, and all three contributed enough offense to keep the Aztecs guessing after a sloppy UH start.

San Diego State (5-1) suffered its first loss. It upset Cal opening weekend and received votes in this week’s poll. Hawaii saw why in the opening set.

It took the Aztecs 20 minutes to get their first lead, but they made it stand up in a 12-5 surge to win the opening set. Hawaii never touched Summer Nash, who buried nearly half SDSU’s kills with an error-free 7-for-11 start.

"She was just hitting high the whole time," Goodman said. "She was going after it, really going after it. That was frustrating for all of us."

UH coach Dave Shoji brought in Goodman on the right in Set 2 and replaced Vorster — ineffective for the second straight match — with sophomore transfer Stephanie Hagins after the Aztecs scored the first five points. Kristiana Tuaniga was in for Adolpho a bit later.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Wahine began to dig more balls and touch more on the block — and dig in. SDSU had to take the first timeout when a 5-1 Hawaii run cut its deficit to 10-9.

There would be six ties from there, but the Wahine won by scoring seven of the last 10, with Hartong burying three kills.

"Cal was in the back of everybody’s mind," Goodman said. "We can’t have a repeat. We can’t let it happen again. Now we have to change it."

Shoji brought his starting middles back in Set 3, worried about hurting their confidence. After falling behind 7-1, Hawaii began to roll. Vorster and Adolpho, first-year starters, were again a force in the middle, and the UH block began to touch almost everything. Behind them, Ali Longo (22 digs), Mita Uiato and Emily Maeda dug what was left.

"They did what Hawaii does," said former Hawaii All-American Deitre Collins-Parker, the Aztecs’ fourth-year coach. "They dug balls and they blocked balls.

"It was a huge learning experience for us in that, if you open the door for a good team, they go through it. We have to learn from this. I think it was great for our program to have this match and to play as well as we did early and realize we’re not that far behind."

Uiato — and profoundly better passing — found the middles for seven kills, and they were in on three of the four UH stuffs in the third. Goodman added two kills and two block assists as the Aztecs’ hitting percentage dropped to .098 — nearly 300 points below the opening set.

They would drop to .028 in Set 4, when Hawaii dispensed with the slow start and scored the first five points. It was up 15-6 at the technical timeout.

A late run behind Nash wouldn’t be enough. She would also finish with 21 kills, but from Set 2 until those final moments, Hawaii stuffed her into .086 hitting. Former Wahine Michelle Waber, MVP at the Aztecs’ first two tournaments, managed just five kills and hit .095.

The Aztecs, who join Hawaii in the Big West next year, play third-ranked UCLA in tonight’s opener. The Wahine, who have now won 22 straight against SDSU, take on Idaho, a team that has never beaten them.

No. 3 UCLA 3, Idaho 0

The Bruins (4-1) rode the arms of senior hitters Tabi Love and Rachel Kidder in the 73-minute, 25-16, 25-13, 25-13 sweep of the Vandals.

Love had 11 kills with one error in 16 swings, and Kidder, the MVP of last year’s national championship match, added 10. UCLA hit .525, with six aces, three by junior hitter Kelly Reeves, and out-dug Idaho 33-17.

Allison Walker Baker led the Vandals (2-6) with 10 kills.