Colorado State University Athletics
Hawaii, Stanford advance to regional final
12/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Dec. 12, 2008
By Luke Simmons
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Stanford and Hawaii won their respective regional semifinal matches and will face off Saturday night in a clash of top-10 teams with a ticket to Omaha, Neb. and the final four on the line.
In the first regional semifinal match, Hawaii overcame a first-set loss to defeat Purdue in four (18-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-20) sets. The Rainbow Wahine were led by WAC Freshman of the Year Kanani Danielson, who totaled 21 kills on a .400 clip.
In the second regional semifinal match, Stanford cruised past Florida in a three-set sweep (25-14, 25-21, 25-21). Foluke Akinradewo, the reigning AVCA National Player of the Year, recorded a match-high 13 kills, while hitting at a .684 clip with no errors.
The showdown between Stanford (29-3) and Hawaii (31-3) is Saturday at 7 p.m. MT in Moby Arena. Both teams won their respective conference titles, with the Rainbow Wahine ending the season ranked 6th in a Bison/AVCA Top 25 Poll and the Cardinal owning the No. 2 ranking. The match will air live on ESPNU.