Those sparks of brilliance snuffed out by the defending NCAA volleyball champion Friday grew into the elements for a rare blowout last night as 12th-ranked Hawai'i dismantled Ohio, 25-19, 25-12, 25-12, in the 21st annual Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic.

The Rainbow Wahine's first victory of 2008, played out before 4,156 at Stan Sheriff Center, was their most dominant performance since a sweep of Nevada on Oct. 8, 2005. The Wolf Pack scored 40 points that night when "games" were to 30 points. This year "sets" are to 25, which makes it an unfair comparison but still a good gauge of the 'Bows' brilliance a night after they lost their season opener to top-ranked Penn State.

They said then they felt more in sync than they had for a while, but it was tough to tell against a ridiculously tall team that has every starter back from last year's NCAA championship. Last night it was almost too easy to tell by the middle of the match, when Ohio's game careened into chaos.

"I'd give all the credit to Hawai'i," said Ohio coach Ryan Theis, after his second match as head coach. "They were lights out. They controlled the ball so well the first and second contacts. They started out error-prone, which we saw a little of last night, and we were able to take advantage of some of those. And then they went flawless."

Tonight, in the Classic's final match against sixth-ranked UCLA, the Rainbow Wahine should get a better idea of how good they really are. They have more history with the Bruins — who were swept by Penn State last night — than any other team. They lead the series 34-31, but have been swept the last three times by the Bruins.

Ohio was also swept by UCLA Friday, but it was in that match. By the end of last night, the Bobcats were out of it.

Hawai'i never wavered and finally found separation in the first set when it scored four straight with Tara Hittle serving, to pull ahead 21-16. Freshman Kanani Herring was in on all four, with a block and three kills, including a graceful push into the deep corner after the set twisted her into a pretzel.

"She just has great instincts about the game, great court sense and control of her body," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "She's a smart player who knows where she's supposed to be and where everybody else is supposed to be. She'll make the right move most of the time.

"That's the kind of thing you can't measure. You can't tell by looking at the stat sheet the kinds of things she does. Aneli (Cubi-Otineru) has the same kind of qualities and so does Hittle. They just have a real good command of the game. We're much better with those three out there making decisions. It's nothing you can put your finger on but it's just smoother out there with Hittle and the addition of Herring and Aneli's experience, too."

The first-set separation snowballed into a surge that lasted the rest of the 74-minute match. The 'Bows blew to a 16-8 lead in the second set and suddenly the Bobcats were struggling in every phase of the game.

UH hit .682 in the second set, going an error-free 15 for 22. It picked up the fourth block of the match — one more than Friday — at 4-3. Nickie Thomas, seeing her first action since Sept. 14, 2006, had four by herself by the end of the set.

"It was awesome," said Thomas, playing with a brace on her left knee. "And so fun."

Thomas lost her sophomore season to a knee injury and her junior year to another, before it started. Transfer Catherine Fowler started opposite Kaufman Friday when Shoji worried that Thomas' still-limited mobility might hurt against Penn State's quick offense.

Against Ohio's more conservative attack, Thomas was everywhere at the net, and added five kills on seven swings. Fowler came in the final set and stuffed five balls in a matter of minutes, while freshman Stephanie Ferrell took Jamie Houston's place and went 3 for 3 with two blocks.

Hawai'i hit .456 (300 points higher than Friday), which is its best hitting percentage in almost three years. Cubi-Otineru, the brightest offensive spot the first night, led UH again with nine kills on .571 hitting. The middles were all but untouchable, as Kaufman and Thomas combined for 13 kills and .600 hitting.

In the first match, Penn State held off UCLA in the first two sets and hammered the Bruins in the third to remain unbeaten with a 25-22, 25-21, 25-13 victory. It was PSU's 28th straight win, a streak that dates back 50 weeks.