HONOLULU – Kaela Straw's match-high 20 kills were not enough to lift Idaho volleyball past Hawai'i Thursday, on the first day of the Outrigger Volleyball Challenge in Honolulu. The host Rainbow Wahine (3-2) edged out the Vandals (4-3) 3-1, winning 25-21, 23-25, 25-18, 25-22.
 
Idaho came out fast, taking a 14-7 lead in the first set before Hawai'i called timeout and regrouped. The Rainbow Wahine tied it at 15, took and 18-17 lead and eventually took a 25-21 win in the set. Hawai'i made a similar push in the second set after the Vandals again took the lead, but this time Idaho was able to stave off the rally and preserve the 25-23 set victory.
 
Hawai'i cruised to a 25-18 win out of intermission and prevailed in a back-and-forth fourth set. With the set tied at 21, Hawai'i scored four of the final five points to seal the match.
 
Straw, who has been named to the all-tournament teams at each of Idaho's first two tournaments this season, led the way with 20 kills on a hitting percentage of .357. Sarah Sharp also reached double digits with 13 kills. Nikki Ball, Reece Carmen and DeVonne Ryter each tallied four blocks.
 
In a closely-contested match, the Rainbow Wahine's performance in serve and serve receive helped put them over the top. Hawaii served up 10 aces over the course of the match and limited Idaho's rallies with a 63.2 percent side-out rate.
 
Individually, Idaho's Alycia Wodke had a big night from the service line. Wodke delivered four aces and no service errors. It is the most aces by a Vandal in a match this year. Wodke also posted a team-high 21 digs.
 
The Vandals continue their stay in Hawaii with matches against San Diego State (Friday; 7:45 p.m. PT) and Portland (Saturday; 6 p.m. PT).