Tigers Drop 3-1 Decision at No. 12 Hawaii

Honolulu, Hawaii – The Tigers rallied from a 2-0 deficit to force a fourth set against No. 12 Hawaii, but the Rainbow Wahine handed the Pacific women's volleyball team a 3-1 defeat at the Verizon Volleyball Challenge Friday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

In front of a crowd of 6,376 the Tigers fell behind two sets to none by scores of 25-17 each time. Out of intermission, Pacific responded, hitting .341 in set three and holding the Rainbow Wahine to a .122 attack percentage. But in set four, Hawaii closed out Pacific, 25-15, by hitting .423 and holding the Tigers to a .119 percentage.

Senior Samantha Misa led the Tigers with 17 kills, hitting .318 for the match with nine digs. Sophomore outside Megan Birch added 11 kills, while sophomore middle Jennifer Sanders added 10 to follow up on Thursday's 12-kill performance against Cincinnati.

Kanani Danielson led the way for the Rainbow Wahine, posting a match-high 18 kills, while Jane Croson added 15 and Brittany Hewitt chipped in 10. For the match, Hawaii hit .319 with 60 kills on 135 attempts, and held Pacific to a .212 percentage.

With the loss, Pacific falls to 5-3 on the season, with all three losses coming to the top 26 vote getters in the polls.

In the early going, the Tigers' defense dug in, and posted four blocks in the first set, holding Hawaii to a .056 hitting percentage early in the set as the Tigers jumped out to an 11-8 lead. But the Rainbow Wahine rallied back, tying the set at 15 on a kill from Danielson. From there, Hawaii embarked on a 10-2 run to close the set, as the Tigers hit just .111 in the opening frame.

In set two, the Tigers offense improved, hitting .250, but Hawaii found their offensive groove, hitting .515 in the set as they turned a 11-9 lead into a 25-17 set win.

Out of intermission, the Tigers played with intensity, as Misa recorded eight of her 17 kills in the set and Pacific hit .341 as a team. In a set that featured seven ties, the Tigers reeled off four-straight points after trailing 16-14, as setter Hannah Clancy recorded a kill of a flip attempt, then served three points on a block by freshman middle Gillian Howard and Birch, and kills by Howard and Misa. The run gave the Tigers the lead for good, as Misa posted three more kills to set up set point, and Pacific forced a fourth set with the 25-20 win.

The fourth set, however, saw the Rainbow Wahine pull away as a service error by Pacific tied the score at 7-7 to start a 9-0 run for Hawaii. Birch and junior middle Gabby Cowden stopped the bleeding with back-to-back kills, but three kills from Danielson helped Hawaii seize control for the 25-15 win.

Hawaii improves to 7-1 on the year, 5-0 at home and 2-0 in the tournament. The match was the final meeting between the Tigers and Rainbow Wahine before Hawaii joins the Big West Conference next season. The result sets up a winner-take-all match for the tournament championship between Hawaii and Cincinnati, with the Tigers meeting Rice in a de facto third-place match.

First serve for the match-up between the Tigers and Owls is slated for 6 p.m. Pacific, 3 p.m. Hawaiian.