For the first time in her dynamic career, University of Hawai'i senior outside hitter Aneli Cubi-Otineru was named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week.

The Punahou graduate had 18 kills, 20 digs, five blocks and three aces in back-to-back sweeps of Pepperdine last week.

Rainbow Wahine freshman Brittany Hewitt bolted to the top of the national rankings in blocking after her work last week against 25th-ranked Pepperdine, which dropped out of the poll yesterday. Hewitt is now averaging 1.63 blocks a set, which puts her first in the country.

The only other 'Bows in the Top 20 are Amber Kaufman, at No. 12 in hitting (.429), Cubi-Otineru, at No. 14 in aces (0.58), and setter Dani Mafua, who is 13th in assists (11.5). As a team, Hawai'i is 12th in hitting percentage (.284), 18th in assists (13.05) and 19th in kills (14.0).

The Rainbow Wahine (9-2) remained at No. 4 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. Penn State is ranked first, followed by Texas and Washington. All three teams are unbeaten, as is No. 7 Oregon, No. 16 Michigan State and No. 19 Arizona.

No other Western Athletic Conference teams are receiving votes in the poll.

Hawai'i, which has won the last 11 WAC championships, opens defense of its title at home this week. It plays Boise State Thursday and Idaho Saturday. The Rainbows have won their last five, all in three sets.

In high school volleyball news, Hawai'i Baptist senior Sarah Palmer is ranked 73rd on http://www.Volleyball.com's Senior Aces list for the Class of 2010. She has verbally committed to Texas as a defensive specialist.

All three of the recruits that have committed verbally to UH are ranked between Nos. 48 and 61.

The Web site picks the top 250 recruits, with the help of 120 college coaches. It ranks Nos. 1 to 100. Criteria is "potential impact over four years at the next level."

The highest ranked Hawai'i recruit is Emily Hartong, a 6-foot-1 middle/hitter from Los Alamitos, Calif. She is No. 48 after helping club team Mizuno Long Beach 17's to the gold at the Junior Olympics this summer.

UH recruits Kaela Goodman and Mita Uiato are 55th and 61st. Goodman, another 6-1 middle/hitter, from Mission Viejo, Calif., suffered a back injury during club but returned and is reaching over 10 feet, according to the site. Uiato is a 5-8 setter from Long Beach, Calif.

Palmer lifted HBA to its second straight Division II title as a hitter last season.

The last 150 Senior Aces are not ranked. That group includes Punahou hitter Juliana Behrens, who is headed for Cincinnati, according to the site, and defensive specialists Taylor Akana (Kamehameha) and C'era Oliveira (Hawai'i Baptist).