Kanani Danielson, University of Hawai‘i sophomore outside hitter, has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Aug. 24-30. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor of the season for Danielson
Kanani Danielson, University of Hawai‘i sophomore outside hitter, has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Aug. 24-30.
This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor of the season for Danielson and the second of her career.
During the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational, the outside hitter tallied 54 kills, 19 digs and 11 blocks over three matches en route to earning Most Outstanding Player honors at the tournament.
Danielson averaged a league-best 5.40 kills on .408 hitting as she led Hawai‘i to the tournament title with wins over No. 28 Western Michigan, No. 25 Santa Clara, and No. 9 UCLA.
The No. 7 ranked University of Hawai‘i team swept No. 9 UCLA, 25-23, 25-18, 25-22 to capture the championship Sunday night at the Stan Sheriff before a crowd of 6,546 fans.
A Danielson kill finished off the first set, the outside hitter hitting .462 for the set and adding four digs.
Hawai‘i knocked off the Bruins for the first time in its last four tries, and now holds a 35-32 all-time lead in the series that dates back 35 years.
With the tournament win, the Rainbow Wahine improves to 3-0 to open its season, their best start since 2004.
During the championship game Sunday, Danielson recorded a match-high 16 kills, hitting .414 and adding seven digs.
Danielson led the Rainbow Wahine in kills in all three matches, tying a career high with 22 kills against Santa Clara.
She also tied her career high with five blocks against both Santa Clara and Western Michigan.
The Hawai‘i Rainbow Wahine return to action Thursday when they host the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic.
The first match of the classic features the No. 2 Texas against No. 6 Cal at 5 p.m. followed by UH and No. 20 Saint Louis at 7 p.m.
