All Hawaii had to do Saturday against a slumping Idaho team was keep the volleyball in. The ninth-ranked Rainbow Wahine did that remarkably well in a 25-11, 25-14, 25-16 win.

Hawaii will have to do much, much more against third-ranked UCLA in today’s 5 p.m. championship match of the Verizon Challenge.

The Wahine (6-1) scored 12 of the first 13 points against the Vandals (2-7), who were picked to finish second in the Western Athletic Conference again but are currently on a six-match slide.

From there, a Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 4,912 was forced to find its own excitement. The Vandals were not coming back. The Wahine won their 17th consecutive Challenge match and bumped their record against Idaho to 19-0.

"We’re definitely not playing up to our ability, that’s for sure," said Vandals coach Debbie Buchanan. "We have played some good teams in the last two weekends, but it took us until Game 3 to come out and even compete. I look back and wonder, ‘Did I schedule too tough?’ But of any year, this is the year to play some bigger teams. We’ve got five seniors.

"This was a missed opportunity. We have the potential. We just have to come out and start acting like it."

UH got 10 kills from Arizona State transfer Ashley Kastl, who started on the left for the first time in her UH career. Second-team All-American Emily Hartong moved to the right — her third position — and buried 15 kills.

"I’ve been trained on the left my entire life. I love the left," Kastl said. "But I love the right. I’m very open to learning positions and getting in there and just grinding day in and day out."

UH coach Dave Shoji has pondered the move for a while but pulled the trigger just before what could be his team’s most critical match until the postseason.

"Ashley is more comfortable on the left, as you can see," he said. "I wanted to see Hartong on the right and Ashley play some left sometime this weekend. Why not start that way? Because if it’s not looking good, we can always go back.

"It’s a work in progress, not something we’re going to do permanently any time soon."

Shoji denied the change-up was solely for UCLA’s scouts to see, kind of.

"(UCLA coach) Mike (Sealy) is playing with me, using two setters and two right sides," Shoji said. "He’s messing with me, too."

Saturday, it might not have mattered who was out there. Kastl and Hartong both hit more than .500, but who didn’t? Jane Croson and middles Stephanie Hagins, Kalei Adolpho and Jade Vorster all hit .500 or better.

The Wahine attackers did not have a hitting error the first two sets. They hit .593 in Set 2 and .489 for the night, even after coming back to earth with four hitting errors in the final set.

No one had seen numbers that high since the Bruins hit .581 against Idaho on Friday. The Vandals could do nothing to stop them or Hawaii.

UCLA, whose front row averages 6-foot-2, can do plenty. How do the Wahine make the transition tonight?

"It’s discipline and teamwork," Kastl said. "It doesn’t matter who you are playing; it’s about how we’re coming in there together and how disciplined we are. We have to come in humble, hungry and ready to play every single time."

The Vandals hit negative .031 in the opening set, with eight kills and nine errors. UH libero Ali Longo, the smallest on the floor, played a big part.

On one play she dove in the middle of the floor to bring a ball up. When it came back while she was still prone, she threw her body farther forward and made the pancake dig.

The only thing that stopped her all night was a TV cameraman, who prevented Longo from heading into the stands only because she didn’t want to run him over. Instead, she hit the brakes and landed in his lap.

Junior Allison (Walker) Baker took most of the Vandals’ swings and led them with 10 kills, but had nine errors.

What Buchanan likes best about this Hawaii team, which is returning to the Big West after 16 seasons in the WAC, is that it no longer relies on one player.

"They don’t have a Kanani (Danielson) that’s getting every ball," she said. "They’re a bit more balanced across the board. The setter is doing a nice job and running a good offense. They passed better tonight than last night. They’re still trying to get that flow too."

UCLA 3, San Diego State 0

Rachael Kidder put down 13 kills and Karsta Lowe added 10 to lead the Bruins (5-1) to a 25-11, 25-20, 25-18 win over the Aztecs (5-2) in 72 minutes.

Summer Nash had a team-high seven kills for San Diego State, which has now lost two in a row after opening the season 5-0. Former Rainbow Wahine Michelle Waber added five kills and a team-high seven digs.