Ten minutes after the University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine volleyball team had outlasted Colorado State in the second round of the NCAA tournament, head coach Dave Shoji was parched and badly in need of liquid refreshment before meeting the media.

“Here, take this,” Mita Uiato said, handing him a bottle of water.

An altogether fitting final gesture, it turned out, on a night when the Rainbow Wahine’s setter seemed to have the right call at the right times in helping guide the 22-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-18 victory over the Rams.

While Kanani Danielson had an All-American-like night with 22 kills, it was the 5-foot, 8-inch Uiato who masterfully set the table with 49 assists for the big guns and UH’s move to next week’s home regional at the Stan Sheriff Center.

On an night of some stunning upsets in the NCAA tournament, Uiato went a long way to make sure there would not be one at 1337 Lower Campus Road. While No. 2-seeded Nebraska, No. 14 Tennessee and No. 16 Texas A&M were among those falling by the wayside, the Rainbow Wahine were in the capable hands of Uiato.

She set the blue, white and gray Molten Super Touch game ball with something resembling a special touch of her own, helping UH to its 26th consecutive victory in a 31-1 season. “I would probably say 90 percent (correct calls),” Shoji said.

Which is saying something for a sophomore starting in her first NCAA tournament. “Mita has come a long way in only one year,” Shoji said. “She is a first-time starter (in 2011) and really had to get a feel for the game and for the team. And, as you can see, she got better almost every night.”

Friday night they needed her to be better than ever. Against the No. 2 blocking team in the NCAA, a Rams starting lineup that averaged more than 2 inches taller per player than UH, Uiato had to be quick and precise.

With a crowd of 7,861 on hand and the Rainbow Wahine feeling the pressure to move on and capitalize on their first home regional since 2003, the expectations were considerable with little room for error in Uiato’s sets.

“My job is setting up the offense, and once I start getting in my little rhythm and setting the offense, they (the Rams) had a hard time closing the block and stopping our hitters,” Uiato said.

As the so-called “quarterback” of the UH offense, “I thought she (made) some really good choices,” Shoji said. “I thought she had a some really good choices in setting the pipe, which is our back row at the right time and going to Chanteal (Satele),” Shoji raved.

Added Danielson: “Mita set a beautiful game.”

Friday night, beauty was set win deep.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com 529-4820.