Rainbow Wahine stay at No. 6 in poll

Hawaii remained at No. 6 in the AVCA Division I Coaches Poll released Monday after two straight-sets sweeps in its opening weekend of Big West Conference volleyball play.

The Rainbow Wahine (13-1, 2-0 Big West) beat Cal State Fullerton on Friday behind a career-high 20 kills from Nikki Taylor and a 20-point run on Ali Longo’s serve during a dominating second set.

Emily Hartong had 12 kills to lead the Wahine over UC Riverside on Sunday.

Washington (10-0) rose to the top spot after opening the Pac-12 season with road wins over previously undefeated Washington State and No. 21 Oregon. The Huskies are followed by USC, Florida, Texas and last week’s No. 1, Penn State. The Nittany Lions tumbled to No. 5 after falling in five sets to No. 15 Michigan State on Friday.