HILO, Hawaii—Lucee Fitzgerald had a UH Hilo-career high 15 kills to help lead her team to a home-opening straight sets win over Academy of Art on Friday night at the Vulcan Gymnasium, 25-19, 30-28, 25-19.
 
The Vulcans picked up their first Pacific West Conference victory with the win, moving to 1-2 in league play and 4-5 overall. Academy of Art dropped to 2-7 on the year and 0-3 in the PacWest.
 
It was UH Hilo's first home match in nine starts, and a vocal crowd of 575 helped spur them to victory, especially in a tight and crazy second set. The home court advantage helped new head coach Gene Krieger pick up his first victory on the Vulcan floor.
 
"The crowd was great, they made lots of noise," Krieger confirmed. "It was the first time that we have had that this year, and I am not sure that we knew exactly what to do with it," he smiled.
 
In the first set, the Vulcans hit at a torrid .341 clip and shared the accolades. Siera Green and Fitzgerald had five kills each and Randi Hunter added three.  UHH led for most of the set, taking a 5-5 tie and running off five straight points, to lead the rest of the set.  The Vulcans had 18 kills in the set.
 
Set number two brought the crowd to their feet. The home team took a 11-4 lead but the Urban Knights battled back to tie it at 13-13. The teams traded blows after that, still tied at 22-22. AAU then took a two-point lead to earn two set points, but the Vulcans rallied to tie it at 24-24 on a Green ace.  Both squads then had set points that they couldn't convert until the Vulcans and Fitzgerald ended a long rally with the clincher on a cross court angle (30-28).
 
UH Hilo led for almost the entire third set before finalizing the match at 25-19. The Vulcans blitzed out to a 9-4 lead and never trailed after that, hitting .357 for the set. Fitzgerald, a junior transfer from Irvine College, had six of her kills in the final game.
 
Green finished with nine kills and hit .300, while Hunter added seven, converting at a .500 clip. Mina Grant had 18 digs on the defensive side, while Fitzgerald and Kiley Davis had three block assists apiece.
 
Kimiah Johnson had 13 kills to lead the Urban Knights, with Bailey Soolsma right behind her with 12.
 
"It was great to get the win at home," Krieger added. "We didn't play an even match, but we had moments were we played well. We will have a chance to keep it going tomorrow night and hopefully we will take advantage of that opportunity."
 
The Vulcans continue their homestand on Saturday, hosting Fresno Pacific at 7 p.m.  The first 100 fans through the door will receive a free Vulcan grocery bag on Sack the Sunbirds night.