With its offense zeroing in on Nevada and its defense denying it, 11th-ranked Hawai'i swept the Wolf Pack, 30-17, 30-20, 30-27, last night in a Western Athletic Conference volleyball match in Reno. The victory leaves the Rainbow Wahine (19-4, 13-0 WAC) a win away from clinching the regular-season title and WAC Tournament's top seed.

Hawai'i left sides Jamie Houston (21 kills) and Aneli Cubi-Otineru (11) both hit better than .330. Right side Tara Hittle rallied from a bad start to collect nine kills — eight in the final two games, when she hit .438.

"She's just real determined to be a threat offensively," UH coach Dave Shoji said of Hittle. "When she's not, it bothers her and she works harder to contribute offensively."

Nevada (13-9, 9-5) dropped out of a third-place tie with Utah State with the loss, only its third in the last 12 matches. The Pack has been swept by the 'Bows in six of the last seven meetings, but while it played better in its Virginia Street Gym than in Hawai'i a month ago, it still could not cope with UH.

"Where we really got beat tonight, where I was really impressed with Hawai'i, was their defense," Nevada coach Devin Scruggs said. "We would hit the ball with some heat and they got a touch on everything. That was the Hawai'i of old, where they dug a ton of balls.

"And Houston was on fire. There was nothing we could do to stop her offensively. She was way above us."

The Rainbows broke away midway through the first two games, outscoring Nevada 15-5 to end Game 1 and 14-4 in Game 2. Houston hammered her first four swings and hit .600 with seven kills in the first.

The Pack's Teal Ericson had five kills in the game, but her teammates could add just five more, with six hitting errors. After two games, Ericson had nine kills and her teammates just 12, hitting negative .016. Scruggs turned libero Allison Hernandez into a hitter and she provided six kills in the final game, which was tied at 25 before Otineru contributed two kills and a block in the final five UH points.

Hawai'i out-blocked Nevada 8-6, with Juliana Sanders in on five, and out-aced it 6-2. But Shoji, like Scruggs, was most impressed with the 54-34 dig advantage.

"We played great defense," Shoji said. "We were just able to make more plays. I think that's why we pulled away. We're converting, playing great transition ball, then getting a kill.

"We tweaked our defense and moved some people around. It's set now and people are more comfortable in their spots."

Hawai'i can clinch the regular-season title against Fresno State today at Save Mart Center. The match starts at 4 p.m. Hawai'i time and will be broadcast live on 1420 AM. FSU has never beaten the 'Bows.

NOTES

Jessica Keefe and Amanda Simmons are suffering from the flu and did not suit up last night. Aneli Cubi-Otineru missed practice, but felt better at match time and started. Stephanie Brandt is also suffering from the bug.

The WAC will stream all the matches of the WAC Volleyball and Soccer Tournaments this month, with Web site partner JumpTV Sports. Viewers can sign up by visiting WAC.tv. Soccer begins Thursday and runs until next Sunday (Nov. 11) in Boise, Idaho. All five games can be purchased for $9.95. Volleyball is in Las Cruces, N.M., Nov. 15 to 17. Single matches can be viewed on WAC.tv for $9.95 or fans can subscribe to the full tournament package (eight matches) for $19.95.

Senior Juliana Sanders moved into fourth in career block assists last night and junior Jamie Houston is now seventh in career kills.