HILO, Hawaii.—Hawai`i Hilo's Evelin Solyomvari had a career-high 14 kills, helping her team go the distance on Senior Night as the Vulcans held off a game Hawai`i Pacific squad, 16-25, 28-26, 25-16, 21-25, 15-11 on Saturday night at the UH Hilo Gymnasium.
 
It was the last match of the regular season, the final battle in the Pacific West Conference in 2017, played late in the Hawaii time zone.  Both teams entered the night on 10-match losing streaks and with 5-14 conference records.
 
Pride, Hawaiian bragging rights, and valuable points in the Hawaii Challenge were on the line, even if no one on the mainland waited up for the final result. The Sharks won the first meeting of the year, 3-0, but this one would last over two and a half hours in front of a loud and rowdy crowd of nearly 500, that included the UH Hilo Samoan Club.
 
When it was all said and done, the Vulcans were the ones ending the season on a high note and with a 6-14 mark in conference play. They finished 9-18 overall. Hawaii Pacific closed the 2017 books at 7-21 on the year and 5-15 in the PacWest.
 
"It was a battle," said a relieved UHH  head coach Gene Krieger afterwards. "It was good to end the season on a high note."
 
In the beginning, it looked like this night might belong to Hawaii Pacific.
 
The visitors owned the first set. The Sharks raced out to a 6-1 lead, pushed that margin out to 9-3 and eventually to 15-5. They would never trail in the set, winning easily 25-16. Cameryn Collie led HPU with six kills in the game.
 
Hawai`i Pacific took the early lead again in the second set but the Vulcans battled back, moving to the front of the leader board for the first time on the night at 16-15. A Solyomvari kill made it a two-point margin (17-15), and from there, the battle was on.
 
The teams traded blows with ties on the scoreboard at 22-22, 23-23, 24-24 and 25-25. A pair of Perla Escobar kills gave the Sharks two opportunities at set points, but each time UH Hilo answered. Randi Hunter and Solyomvari kept the Vulcans alive with kills, and then after an Ashton Jessee block and an Amber Tai ace, the home team not only survived, they evened the match at 1-1. Solyomvari had five kills in the set.
 
The Vulcans carried that momentum into the third set. They burst out to an 8-2 lead on a shared block by Jessee and Tai. They would never trail in the set, taking a 22-14 lead on Siera Green's kill and closing out the game on another Solyomvari put down, 25-16.
 
UH Hilo kept the pace in the early stages of the fourth set. They led at 8-3 after a Mina Grant ace, and still were up 16-11 after a Solyomvari kill. The Sharks fought back, tying the set at 16-16. The Vulcans took a 21-19 lead on a Kylie Davis kill, just four points from the match, but again HPU battled back again.
 
The Sharks took a 22-21 lead on a Abigail Wilmington kill, and then the 5-11 freshman added another kill and then another to give her team the lead at 24-21. A net violation gave the Sharks the set (25-21), and just like that, we were headed to the fifth.
 
HPU led 4-2 in the final set, but the Vulcans scored the next five points and would not trail again. They led 14-8 before the Sharks made one final blitz, scoring the next four points (14-11). Next, after a long rally, Jessee ended the night with a kill, sending the Vulcans into celebration.
 
Solyomvari bested her career high by three kills with 14. Grant had 28 digs and a pair of aces. Davis had seven block assists. It was just the third five-set match of the year for the Vulcans, who finished 2-1 in marathon games.
 
Collie, a freshman, led the Sharks with 13 kills. She also had three service aces.
 
It was the final collegiate match for three UH Hilo seniors—Green, Trixie Croad and Taylor Madrid.