AUSTIN, Texas — Ever heard of the Hawai'i Stampede?

After getting blasted in the first game, the Rainbow Wahine ran all over the heart of Texas last night to win their second-round NCAA Championship volleyball match, 19-30, 30-18, 30-21, 30-20.

The teams that share the No. 7 ranking in the Coaches Poll somehow found themselves in front of 1,526 at Gregory Gym the first week of the postseason. Longhorn fans stayed away in droves and, after Game 1, Texas wanted no part of Hawai'i either. Particularly left-side hitters Jamie Houston (20 kills) and Sarah Mason (15).

Both first-year UH players hit over .440 as All-America setter Kanoe Kamana'o shredded the defense of the country's tallest team. In the final 137 serves the Longhorns, who average 6 feet 1 1/2, had but one block.

"I thought Sarah Mason and Jamie Houston played one hell of a match," Texas coach Jerritt Elliott said. "That combination we didn't have answers for. Regardless of what defense, they were going up and over. And Kanoe did a phenomenal job keeping us off-balance. They played one hell of a match."

UT freshman Lauren Paolini, who is 6 feet 5, was in altitude shock: "They were jumping over us and we haven't had that problem this whole season. They were above us and we had trouble adjusting to that kind of new offense."

The 'Bows (27-6), who have won their last 21, are seeded seventh in the tournament. They advance to the regionals for the eighth straight year and play 10th-seeded Missouri in a Sweet-16 match Friday at State College, Pa.

After last night, when their exhilarating performance left them all in tears, they can dare to dream.

"Our team rebounded after a poor Game 1 and played the best volleyball match of their lives," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "I'm not sure what changed it around. We switched the lineup a little, rotated three times to get a different matchup because they were just exploiting everything in that first game.

"Mason gave us a big lift and we served tougher. It was a matter of momentum and we got it and never let up."

Texas (24-5) was brilliant in Game 1, pulling away 19-12 on a 5-0 surge with Jen Christian serving. Paced by middle Brandy Magee (7 for 8), the Longhorns hit .500 while the Rainbows were hitting a lull that would last the rest of the game.

The smaller 'Bows, with supposedly better ballhandling, were out-dug and out-passed by the Longhorns. And, the fact that the block didn't stop Magee or outside hitter Dariam Acevedo (6 for 9) wasn't as worrisome as the fact that it didn't even touch the Texas hitters.

In the three minutes between games Hawai'i took a breath, searched for better matchups and brought in Mason for Tara Hittle in the front row.

The change was monumental and the improvement was enhanced by stellar serving. It took UT setter Michelle Moriarty off the net and forced her offense outside, where the 'Bows won nearly every battle in the final three games.

Hawai'i didn't pass well enough to get the ball to its middles often, but was never aced. The 'Horns could not say the same. Their block, which had been so intimidating the last half of the season, was also overwhelmed by the 'Bows.

After stuffing one ball the first game, the Rainbow Wahine quickly roofed four to build a 7-3 advantage in Game 2. They would never trail again as their confidence blossomed and they began to dominate.

"I think their confidence got shaken a little bit and then we got some easy points," Shoji said. "The blocking comes in when the passing is more predictable and you can line up better. That's what we did in Game 2. I thought that had a big effect on them. They got shaken, like 'Wow, what is happening to us?' I could see that in them. They weren't real confident at that point."

There would be four more stuffs before the Game 2 blowout was over as UH held Texas to its lowest point total of the season. Mason had three blocks, including two solos, and All-American Victoria Prince got three of her team-high eight. The Longhorns ended up with more errors (12) than kills (11).

In contrast — to Texas and Game 1 — the 'Bows hit .385 with Houston going 5 for 9. She got hotter in the third, drilling seven kills while Mason added five — most straight over Moriarty.

The Longhorns could not stop the Hawai'i outside attack, which has been injured and erratic all season. Hittle and Mason both missed matches with bad ankles while Houston has been spectacular, and spectacularly wild.

Not last night, as the freshman soared to help the 'Bows score in bunches. They forged ahead 6-2 in the third when Mason blasted an ace and jump-served another liner that UT passed directly into Prince's fist on its way straight down. Houston buried four kills in a row to extend the advantage to 10-5 and UH played keepaway the rest of the game behind its hitters.

"We felt like we had to have Houston in there because she can score," Shoji said. "Hittle had a slow start but we had Mason waiting. So, we had two scorers on the left and that's why we won the match.

"Jamie has had big matches like this before. She had 20-something kills against Penn State. She is capable of doing that every night. She is going to be a phenomenal player. She makes a lot of freshman-type errors but we have to live with that. She certainly played unlike a first-year player tonight."

The Longhorns didn't have a block in Game 3 or a prayer in Game 4. Elliott called his last timeout down 9-2 and Hawai'i was in the zone.

"Through the whole match it felt really good, but at that timeout it was like, 'OK, calm down, we need to keep going," said UH senior Susie Boogaard, who passed almost flawlessly, hit .444 and blocked four balls. "It was really exciting to be able to play that well the entire night. It was really fun."

NOTES

The Rainbows are 12-0 in second-round matches. This will be their 22nd regional.

Of the seven second-round matches between teams ranked in the Coaches Poll, Hawai'i and Texas played the only one with two top-10 teams.

The Longhorns had won 28 of their last 29 home matches, including an upset of previously unbeaten No. 1 Nebraska last week.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.