Danielson’s tricks power UH by FSU

Fresno State came at fourth-ranked Hawaii with everything it had in last night’s Western Athletic Conference volleyball match. But, like the "pistol" Nevada’s offense packed on the football field Saturday, the Bulldogs didn’t have enough ammunition.

The Rainbow Wahine swept FSU 25-18, 25-18, 25-17 before a crowd of 4,043 at the Stan Sheriff Center. It lasted 92 minutes — 12 more than Friday’s win over San Jose State.

Hawaii (16-1, 6-0 WAC) has won its last 11 as it heads into its second road trip of the season. Its NCAA-best 31 consecutive conference victories dates back more than two years.

Fresno State (7-11, 2-5) was a long shot to end that. The Bulldogs are 0-for-48 against the Wahine, and that domination was never in doubt last night, despite 13 UH service errors and 13 more hitting errors.

"They didn’t seem as intimidating, to be honest," said FSU coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell. "Maybe it was the errors they were making. I think that if they change that and get a little more discipline … they didn’t seem as up and ready to play us as they usually are, so that might have made an impact. But still, a damn good team."

Led, as usual, by All-American Kanani Danielson. The junior’s night included 13 kills, 12 digs, three aces, two blocks and a majestic back-set from the right back corner to left front. Offensively, she used pretty much every shot in a repertoire that apparently expands at the whim of her imagination.

"She has like a gazillion shots," UH setter Dani Mafua said. "She had all her tricks in her bag. She has some she probably doesn’t even know she has yet."

Danielson acknowledged as much: "I don’t even know. It’s just a blessing of how everything unfolds."

Ultimately, the Bulldogs blockers had no idea how high or hard Danielson was going to hit.

"She moves it around so well," Netherby-Sewell said. "I love playing against her because it gives our defenders an opportunity to really understand. Instead of just being somewhere where hitters normally hit you really have to learn angles and where she’s approaching and where the set takes her and things like that.

"I really like our defenders learning from her. Also, our attackers learn how to stay creative and hit different shots, which is a wonderful thing."

The FSU coach was relatively happy with her team’s spirited performance, but the Bulldogs hit just .102 and had only three stuffs — none in the final 63 serves. FSU was also frustrated by UH transfer Chanteal Satele, who hit 11 very loud kills.

"She is hard to block," Netherby-Sewell said. "She comes in at really hard angles and has tremendous court vision and hits much harder than I expected her to. She really impressed me — just her ability to hit angles off the block and around the block. Very difficult to defend."

Hawaii never trailed in the opening set, and was never really threatened. Mafua spread the swings — and kills — to every hitter and even sent a couple of balls to the floor herself.

The Bulldogs stayed in it longer in the second set, closing to 12-11 when they momentarily found a way to stop Satele during a 5-1 run. Danielson emphatically ended the rally, crushing the ball inside the 10-foot line with a yell. FSU never recovered. She had six kills in the set, while Satele added five.

Halfway through the final set, Danielson’s spectacular dig gave her seven double-doubles this season. She was serving five straight points at the time, giving the Wahine the separation (18-12) they would need to finish off FSU.

"We got a little sloppy in Game 3," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "They are much improved. They attacked the ball. They looked like a real team. They hit hard. But we have a high standard, so I guess when people get 18 it’s like … I guess we’re not playing that good."

NOTES

» The Wahine leave on their second road trip tomorrow night. They play at Idaho on Thursday (6 p.m. Hawaii time), Boise State on Saturday (3 p.m.) and Utah State next Monday (4 p.m.). All the matches will be broadcast live on KKEA 1420-AM. The Idaho and USU matches will also be shown live on ESPNU.

» Senior libero Elizabeth Ka’aihue had nine digs last night — the first time she has been in single digits this season.

» Hawaii returns for a four-match homestand, starting with Boise on Oct. 29 and New Mexico State on Oct. 31. The second-place Aggies (13-9, 7-1 WAC) fought off set points twice last night to defeat Nevada 28-26, 27-25, 25-20. NMSU had won its previous two matches in five sets.