The biggest question mark for the 2007 Rainbow Wahine was answered with the introduction of Dani Mafua to UH's setting dynasty.

"You can see she's going to be a great setter," Hawai'i coach Dave Shoji said. "She's a good blocker and a good defender."

While Mafua fought off "jitters" with 33 assists and 10 digs, Arizona defeated UH, 30-26, 39-37, 30-24, in a spring exhibition volleyball match last night at the Stan Sheriff Center in front of 2,624 fans.

"There's always first-game jitters, and she did a good job of keeping her composure," departing All-American Kanoe Kamana'o said. "When things didn't go right — or how setters want them to go — she was calm about the whole situation."

Mafua showed her versatility when she switched to outside hitter — with Kamana'o setting — in the final points of Game 3.

"It was fun getting a set from her and getting a kill," Mafua said. "It was pretty exciting. I had a lot of jitters. I had big shoes to fill."

All-American Jamie Houston led Hawai'i with 24 kills, with nearly twice the amount of swings (58) as teammate Sarah Mason (30), a departing senior who also was allowed to play.

"I felt good," Houston said. "I was ready to play. I think we need a lot of improvement. We were kind of rusty, and we need more of a sense of urgency."

The Rainbow Wahine began their spring season Monday, giving them three days to prepare. They played without injured starters Tara Hittle (ankle), Nickie Thomas (knee), Jessica Keefe (knee) and Juliana Sanders (legs).

"We worked hard at practice those three days," Houston said.

Freshman Whitney Dosty tallied 17 kills, Alanna Resch added 14 and Randy Goodenough 10 for the Wildcats (13-17 in 2006), who missed the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time in 11 years. But it was UH (29-6 in 2006), a regional semifinalist, that appeared more rusty in Game 1. Arizona controlled from start to finish, holding Hawai'i to a .227 hitting percentage. The Wildcats hit .304.

"We finished a difficult year, and we are all looking forward to moving forward," Arizona coach David Rubio said. "We want to continue to play really good competition and take steps forward."

The Rainbow Wahine showed resilience, taking the Wildcats to extra play before losing in Game 2.

Houston fired off two kills and with an Arizona hitting error and Kari Gregory's ace the Rainbow Wahine took a quick 4-0 lead in Game 2. That lead grew to 9-3 on a Houston ace and 15-9 on another Houston kill. Arizona went on a 6-1 run to close to 16-15.

The Wildcats took their first lead at 26-25 on a double stuff by Dominique Lamb and Goodenough. UH tied it at 26 on a kill by Houston, the first of 10 ties through the latter portion of the game.

With the score 30-30, Kamana'o was called in to serve, entering to loud cheers.

"It was fun," Kamana'o said. "I didn't think I was going to be able to play another game at home."

Hawai'i faced eight Arizona game points before Mason hit into the antenna to give the Wildcats the 39-37 win.

"When you're facing game ball and you're able to side out, that says something about your team," said Shoji, who later added, "I don't think Mason played two matches since December."

The Wildcats jumped to a 12-7 lead in Game 3, and didn't allow the Rainbow Wahine much closer the rest of the match.

Hawai'i did close to 22-20 on an ace by Kamana'o, but Arizona ended the game on an 8-4 run.

"That's what spring is for, but we still expected to go out there and do our thing," Houston said. "It's your time to set yourself apart from the others."

Shoji played all of his back-row specialists: Elise Duggins, Makana Recca, Rayna Kitaguchi and Raeceen Woolford, with Jayme Lee playing libero the first two games and Duggins taking over in Game 3.

"It was good to get them in a game situation," Shoji said.

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com.