Back-to-back five-game marathon sessions ended in the same result for the University of Hawai'i women's volleyball team: a win over Pepperdine.

After winning the first two games, the seventh-ranked Rainbow Wahine outlasted the No. 19 Waves, 30-28, 30-26, 25-30, 23-30, 21-19, at the Stan Sheriff Center last night in front of 6,409 fans.

Hawai'i fought off five match points by the Waves, winning the match on a double stuff by junior middle Kari Gregory and sophomore right-side hitter Jessica Keefe.

"(Keefe) did a great job," Gregory said. "She got it all. She really clamped down. It was perfect form, textbook."

Gregory said because the way the play was set up, they were expecting the ball to go to one of the outsides.

"We were trying to predict their offense all night, but we were not too successful most of the time," Hawai'i coach Dave Shoji said. "They kept shredding our block."

Hawai'i is trying a new blocking approach this season, with assistant coach Mike Sealy calling out blocking schemes for every play.

"We have different kinds of responsibilities for every play," Shoji said. "We're not quite used to changing the assignments every play. As the match progressed, it got better."

Hawai'i outblocked Pepperdine 15-13.5, led by Gregory's 11 stuffs.

The final game was tied 13 times, with Hawai'i gaining match point on a double hit violation on Pepperdine setter Kiah Fiers. It was Hawai'i's first match point since 14-13.

"It was a very emotional two nights," Shoji said. "Last night we were down and we had to come back. Tonight we won the first two games. We didn't have any energy in the third game. We expended so much energy Friday night, and then going up 2-0 tonight, we couldn't sustain the energy. Somehow we dug down a little deeper."

Both teams saved their best volleyball for the final game, with the Rainbow Wahine hitting .343, and the Waves .286. Hawai'i did not commit a hitting error until Pepperdine's 11th point.

"It was coming from deep inside," said UH sophomore Jamie Houston, who finished with a career-high 28 kills, including six in the final game.

Hawai'i dropped the first two games in Friday's match before winning the final three, and came out strong last night. Down 26-22 in Game 1, Hawai'i rallied behind Houston, who tallied three kills in the comeback.

"Any time (setter Kanoe Kamana'o) comes to me, I'm ready," Houston said. "Whenever I can carry the team, I'm going to do it."

A double block of freshman outside hitter Rachel Lumsden by Gregory and Keefe ended the game. After hitting .143 through the first half of the game compared to .333 by Pepperdine, Hawai'i did not commit another hitting error in its final 22 swings, finishing with a .229 hitting percentage.

In Game 2, UH looked to be cruising with a 23-16 lead, but two Waves blocks sparked an 8-1 run that tied the game at 24. But again Houston got hot, putting down two balls for a 26-24 lead. Another Gregory-Keefe double block, two Waves hitting errors — including Fiers' attempt that sailed way past the court — and a Keefe kill put Hawai'i up two games.

In Game 3 it was Pepperdine that closed strong, scoring five of the final six points after a 24-all tie.

"I think we showed it in Game 3, down two sets; we needed to get the fire back, and we did," said Pepperdine senior libero Kekai Crabbe, a Kamehameha graduate who finished with 31 digs. "We were thinking they took three games from us, let's do the same to them."

Pepperdine scored eight of the first 11 points in Game 4, giving Hawai'i its three points on hitting and service errors.

Lumsden finished with 21 kills for the Waves.

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com.