IRVINE, Calif. » To the average observer, Emily Hartong personifies volleyball’s power.

To a former Olympian, she also represents persistence under duress.

That persistence enabled sixth-ranked Hawaii to extend its winning streak to 13 matches Saturday night with a 25-16, 25-17, 22-25, 25-15 victory over UC Irvine in Big West Conference play at Crawford Court.

Hartong finished with 25 kills, four block assists, a solo block and 11 digs, many of the latter coming as she was sliding and lunging for balls.

"She had a bad stretch of passing and they were targeting her," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "But she bounced back. She doesn’t get down on herself and she can rebound from a couple of bad plays. That’s why she’s All-American."

Irvine coach Paula Weishoff, who won a silver medal with the United States in the 1984 Olympics and a bronze in the 1992 Games, was impressed with Hartong’s tenacity.

"We served her every ball, for God’s sake," said Weishoff, whose Anteaters sent 37 balls toward Hartong. "But she just works incredibly hard. I mean, I was watching video and she’s transitioning and she’s coming in.

"I think she’s the Big West player of the year. In my opinion, she’s the best player in the Big West."

Hartong demonstrated her potential to dominate at the end of the first set. With the Rainbow Wahine holding a 19-16 lead, Hartong smashed a cross-court kill to regain service.

The senior then used her hard jump serve, which features rapid rotation and late movement, to give UH five successive points. Three came from Irvine hitting errors.

In the second set, Hartong led a 10-1 spree that extended the Wahine’s advantage to 21-12. Hartong smashed three kills from the left antenna and participated in three blocks.

But the Anteaters (9-8, 0-3) relied on their serving in the third set to frustrate UH (14-1, 3-0). Irvine scored three of its first four points on Cassidy Pickrell’s aces, as the hosts served four aces in the set.

"We knew they were a really good serving team and we knew that was coming," Shoji said. "They served us flat and hard, and they drove us back off the net. We were getting caught too far up, getting hit in the chest and shoulders.

"But we kept our composure. We just had to come out of our passing drought. Once we did that, we were fine."

Weishoff, in her fifth season as Irvine’s coach, believes the Wahine pose an even bigger threat than last year, when they won the conference championship.

"They were great last year," Weishoff said. "But this year, the difference is that it doesn’t matter who’s out there; they don’t miss a beat.

"They can set anybody at any time. If this middle isn’t working, they can set the back. If the back isn’t working, they can set Emily. If one middle isn’t working, they can put another middle in. When one outside wasn’t working, they put another in and didn’t skip a beat."

Nikki Taylor added 10 kills as the Wahine hit .409. Mita Uiato had 11 digs and 46 assists, and Jade Vorster and Kalei Adolpho contributed four block assists apiece.

Pickrell, Aly Squires and Arielle Manz each finished with 11 kills for Irvine, which hit .200. Shelley Anderson passed for 31 assists, and Ella Rosenfeld added two service aces.