Hawaii went through the entire Western Athletic Conference volleyball regular season without dropping a set last year. That won’t happen this time around.

The 11th-ranked Rainbow Wahine survived a third-set breakdown to win their WAC opener Thursday, 25-21, 25-19, 17-25, 25-21, over Idaho. A Memorial Gym crowd of 812 watched in Moscow, Idaho.

Late in the final set, with Hawaii in the midst of a 15-7 run that ended the match, senior Kanani Danielson became the seventh Wahine in the 1,000-kill/1,000-dig club. She joins three national players of the year (Kim Willoughby, Teee Williams and Suzanne Eagye), All-Americans Lily Kahumoku and Tita Ahuna, and Jessica Sudduth.

Danielson, a three-time All-American out of Kamehameha, finished with 24 kills and 10 digs. It is her eighth double-double of the season. She has 1,468 kills and 1,002 digs in her career.

"If you look at those names, they never came out," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "In order to get that many you have to be durable and you have to be a good defensive player not to be taken out. You’ve just got to be in there all the time and you’ve got to understand the game to get that many digs. She was phenomenal defensively again tonight. She makes it look easy, but it’s not easy."

Danielson had one of four double-doubles in the match. Freshman teammate Jane Croson got her third straight with 19 kills and 13 digs, but had more errors than kills in the last two sets and hit just .167 in the match.

"Jane had a rough stretch, but she ended well and that’s really what counts," Shoji said. "She started out great, then we just weren’t taking care of the ball. She got a lot of out-of-system balls and had trouble with them. But she ended strong and got a lot of key points at the end."

Croson scored three of Hawaii’s last four after Idaho cut a four-point deficit (21-17) to two, prompting Shoji to burn his last timeout.

The Vandals (5-8) also got big numbers from their left-side hitters. Alicia Milo collected 19 kills and 12 digs, and Allison Walker added 17 kills and 14 digs.

It was the Vandals’ first home match in 311 days and the Wahine’s first road match of the season. UH had not dropped a set in Moscow in five years, but its dropoff in the third set was dramatic.

It took control after the 16th tie of the opening set, outscoring the Vandals 6-2 to win it and getting the first five points of Set 2. The Wahine were up 14-5, and Croson was hitting an error-free .611, when Idaho fought back into the match.

It cut its deficit to 19-15 before Hawaii was able to finish off the second set. The Vandals dominated the third, with UH hitting just .050.

"It was our first road match and we survived it," Shoji said. "Some people had rough games, but overall we hung in there and grinded. That’s kind of the way it is on the road. You just have to work so hard. … I’m hoping we play better Saturday."

Hawaii (11-1) takes a six-match winning streak into Saturday’s 10 a.m. match at Utah State, the team it lost to in the WAC tournament championship last November.

UH setter Mita Uiato came out early in the first set when she sprained her thumb in a collision. She returned later that set and finished the match. Her injury will be evaluated today.

NO. 11 HAWAII DEF. IDAHO 25-21, 25-19, 17-25, 25-21