HILO--Many say all things in balance is the key to life. That formula worked well for the University of Hawai`i Hilo volleyball team on Saturday night during a 25-22, 25-17, 25-23 win over Fresno Pacific at the Vulcan Gymnasium.

The Vulcans used a balanced attack to snap a three-match losing streak and improve to 6-8 on the season, 4-5 in the Pacific West Conference. The Sunbirds dropped to 5-9 overall and to 3-7 in conference play.

UHH was led by Marley Strand-Nicolaisen with 14 kills and newcomer Haylee Roberts had 13. Roberts had a .400 attack percentage and Strand-Nicolaisen hit .294. Siera Green added seven kills and Sienna Davis had 34 assists.

The Vulcans led almost the entire first set, but not by much. They held a 14-10 lead, but the Sunbirds crawled back to 16-15 and 20-19, and then eventually 21-21. But a pair of kills, one by Green and the other by Armani Moultrie, paired with two FPU errors, gave UHH the win at 25-22. The Vulcans hit .300 in the game. In the second set, the game was tied at 7-7 before the Vulcans went on a run, again initially fueled by Green. The Vuls pushed their lead to 14-8, 19-10 and then 23-14. Roberts closed out the set with a put-away (25-17).

The teams traded leads in the third, with FPU holding the largest margin at 13-9. The set was later tied at 19-19, 20-20, 21-21, 22-22, and 23-23, Two attack errors by the Sunbirds put a wrap on the match.

Karah Mitchell led the Sunbirds with 19 kills. On the defensive side, Strand-Nicolaisen and Mina Grant had 10 digs each for UHH.

The Vulcans will have short rest before turning around on Monday night (Oct. 17) to face PacWest Conference leader Dixie State. Start time is 5 p.m.