New Mexico State served a hole in ninth-ranked Hawai'i's dominance, but ultimately went down swinging last night, falling to the Rainbow Wahine in five games for the second time this season.

The scores were 30-19, 30-26, 25-30, 24-30, 15-12, before a Stan Sheriff Center volleyball crowd of 5,222.

Hawai'i scored the final four points. A kill from Juliana Sanders tied it at 12. Sanders and Susie Boogaard roofed Alice Borden on the final three serves. The Aggies' junior had carved UH up in Games 2, 3 and 4, with the middles effective complements in the astonishing rally.

"We were pretty sure it was going to go to her," said Boogaard, who tied a career high with eight blocks. "Me and Jules knew where she was going to be and got to the right spot."

Sanders, who had a career-high nine blocks, said she and Boogaard made one timely adjustment: "We needed to go more inside because she wasn't going down the line really hard and she was hitting cross-court. Susie and I just made sure we got square, our hands just off the net and we pressed over the net."

The shocking finish — Hawai'i's block had all but disappeared with its passing midway through the third game — kept New Mexico State (19-6, 11-5) from a historical upset in its first year in the Western Athletic Conference. The Aggies, who can finish no worse than third, would have been the first WAC team to beat UH in more than seven years and 120 matches.

A win would have been the biggest in the program's history and probably put NMSU in the NCAA Tournament.

Now, the Aggies will have to wait more than a week to get another shot at the 'Bows (21-6, 15-0 WAC), who have won 15 in a row going into their final home match tonight against Louisiana Tech.

UH coach Dave Shoji called last night's marathon a "wake-up call" for his team and thinks he will see NMSU in next Saturday's WAC Tournament championship. Aggie coach Mike Jordan, who starts just one senior, would love it.

"As young as we are, there are great days ahead," Jordan said. "Hopefully we can make this a really good rivalry.

"It's frustrating. I keep telling them there's no such thing as a moral victory. You can't buy into that, you've got to believe you're capable of winning. I think they're starting to believe a little more. We're getting confident ... It's take care of business next week and hopefully we'll get another crack at them."

Last night started just like most of UH's conference matches. The Rainbow Wahine won the first two games with flurries of points, stifling NMSU into .129 hitting and attacking from every angle. Even with Sarah Mason, who is averaging nearly five kills a game in conference, out with an injured ankle the 'Bows hit .354 the first two games.

But before Game 2 was over, Hawai'i's passing began to disintegrate, leaving the offense to left-side hitters Jamie Houston, who had a career-high 25 kills, and Tara Hittle (17). Its nationally ranked block soon followed.

"The passing went right with the block," Shoji said. "They both left in the middle of the second game. We just relaxed. We were way up and it was looking like it was going to be an easy night and our whole game just got real soft."

NMSU started picking UH apart with line-drive serves and precise hitting, going up 25-19 in the third. The Hawai'i middle was hardly a threat — UH hit just .045 in the game — while Kim Oguh and Amber Simpson opened up the Aggies' offense enough to let Borden bury seven of her first 10 swings.

She made three errors at the end, as the 'Bows closed to 26-24, but they couldn't finish. They only grew more frustrated in the next game, with NMSU hitting .486 before an increasingly agitated crowd.

"We gradually got better at serving the ball and attacking, started making better decisions," Jordan said. "But I think our blocking and defense really stepped up for a while and carried us. We won a lot of long rallies and our middles were very good offensively for a long time."

Hawai'i took what New Mexico State gave it in the final game. Houston, who started for Mason, put UH ahead 3-1 with three kills. The Aggies missed two serves, mis-communicated on a set and Borden hit into the net to make it 7-3 UH.

New Mexico State rallied one last time, going on a 9-3 tear to pull ahead 12-11. That's when the roof fell in on Borden.

"Alice Borden was playing really well in Games 2, 3 and 4," Jordan said. "We felt she was our go-to outside hitter and we were going to give her the ball."

Correction: The Advertiser's cooler bag promotion night was last night. An information graphic listed an incorrect date in yesterday's paper.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.