RENO, Nev. — In a Western Athletic Conference Tournament opener memorable only for its validation of one of the greatest players in Rainbow Wahine volleyball history, eighth-ranked Hawai'i hammered eighth-seeded Boise State, 30-21, 30-22, 30-26, last night at Lawlor Events Center.

UH junior Kanoe Kamana'o became the most prolific setter in the program's storied history at 21-16 in the last game when one of Tara Hittle's match-high 16 kills gave the All-American her 4,638th assist. That moved Kamana'o past Martina Cincerova and into No. 1 on the career list.

She finished the match with 49 assists, pushing her career record total to 4,642

UH coach Dave Shoji, in his 31st year and chasing his fifth national championship, found it hard to argue with the thought of Kamana'o being the best in school history. Shoji found Olympian Robyn Ah Mow-Santos the closest comparison, spoke of the pair's assets for a moment, then shrugged.

"Every setter that comes into our program from now on is going to be compared to Kanoe," he finally said. "And that's probably not going to be fair."

Fittingly Kamana'o, who collected her second WAC Player of the Year honor Wednesday, set the tone on the night's first serve when she stuffed the ball into Jeanette Jenkins face. The 5-foot-8 Iolani graduate would finish with six stuffs, sharing match-high honors with All-America middle blocker Victoria Prince.

The first game went downhill from there for Boise State (8-18), which was outhit by 300 points (.475 to .175) and did not have a block. The Rainbow Wahine hitters put pretty much everything down, with Hittle and freshman Jamie Houston a combined 12 for 23.

Sarah Mason started Game 2 in her first appearance since re-injuring her ankle Nov. 9. She scattered a few swings, allowing the Broncos to stay close early. When she warmed up, the 'Bows (23-6) went on a 17-9 binge, highlighted by the third kill of libero Ashley Watanabe's four-year career. Watanabe got the left side of her face and shoulder in the way of a Bronco bash and the ball deflected so deep into Boise's side of the court no one was even close to it.

Hawai'i tweaked its lineup again in Game 3, starting Kari Gregory in the middle and Mason opposite the setter, while Houston played all the way around. The new-look lineup lost the first two points for the only deficit of the night, then broke from a 5-all tie with six in a row.

Boise State swept ninth-seeded Louisiana Tech yesterday morning to earn its way into the quarterfinals. The Broncos insisted the double play had no impact on last night's match. Coach Scott Sandel said Hawai'i did nothing unexpected, just simply executed. He also found dramatic differences in a few areas of the 'Bows' game from the first time the teams played two months ago.

"They really push the middle more now, especially the tempo (quick set) in the middle ...," Sandel said. "Both times we played them Sarah Mason killed us and Hittle was kind of struggling. Tara played very well tonight. We went out and attacked her with our serve and she didn't show any kind of break."

Hawai'i will play fourth-seeded Nevada tonight in one semifinal, with second-seeded Utah State taking on third-seeded New Mexico State in the opener.

Nevada's 30-22, 36-34, 30-23 win over Idaho yesterday was notable for two reasons: The Wolf Pack (18-11) erased six game points in the second, with sophomore Karly Sipherd and freshman Erika Ryan relentlessly roofing the Vandals; and, Nevada swept despite having its major weapon, Salaia Salave'a, hit negative numbers (5 kills, 6 errors).

"Nevada is a dangerous team," Shoji said. "I thought they were playing really well today. Salave'a is kind of a mystery. I think she is probably key for tomorrow's match. If she fires up and plays like she can, it will be a close match."

The Wolf Pack (19-11) has won five of its last six going into tonight's semifinal, but has been swept twice, easily, by UH this season. Nevada upset Cal, now ranked 12th, two months ago and has gone to four of the last seven NCAA Tournaments. The Wolf Pack has lost to Hawai'i in two of the last three WAC Tournament finals.

NOTES

Today's match will be broadcast live on KFVE at approximately 4:30 p.m. HST. Radio will air reports because the match conflicts with the UH football game against No. 24 Wisconsin.

The championship is scheduled for 3 p.m. HST tomorrow. The winner gets the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. That 64-player field will be announced Sunday.

Hawai'i has won this tournament the last five times it has been played, going back to 1998. Its winning streak over WAC opponents is now 123.

UH sophomore Tara Hittle had her braces removed Tuesday, after 26 months.

Nevada coach Devin Scruggs had an interesting take on playing in Lawlor this year, after holding the WAC Tournament in tiny Virginia Street Gym the last three. She figures the bigger arena will help her team tonight because it will neutralize the impact of a crowd she expects to be predominantly pro-Hawai'i during the holiday break.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.