ATHERTON, Calif.—Hawai`i Hilo couldn't find a groove of any kind during a Wednesday night on the road, falling to Menlo College in straight sets, 25-21, 25-21, 25-17.

The Vulcans dropped to 1-1 on the season, while the NAIA Oaks improved to 9-3.

UH Hilo had early leads in each of the three sets at Haynes-Prim Pavilion, but couldn't maintain any of the margins. They hit just .053 on the evening with 19 attack errors.

After a brief lead in the first set, the Oaks broke out to a 9-4 separation. The Vulcans fought back and tied the set at 17-17 on a Katrina Johnson kill, but the hosts scored the next three points and wouldn't trail in the game again, winning 25-21.

In the second set, UHH broke a 5-5 tie with a pair of aces by Siera Green and blitzed to a 13-8 lead. But Menlo, a member of the Golden State Athletic Conference, rallied back to take their first lead of the set at 20-19. They wouldn't trail again in claiming the set, 25-21.

In the third set, UH ran out to a 4-1 margin, but Menlo went on a six-point run to lead 7-4. Later in the game, with Menlo holding a scant 15-13 lead, the Oaks scored eight straight points to take a 23-13 lead and ice the win (25-17). A Vulcan service error ended the match.

Freshman Ashton Jessee led UH Hilo with six kills and had a .333 attack percentage. The Alaska native also had four block assists. Mina Grant had 23 digs on the defensive side.

Emily Sunada and Maggie McDonald had 11 kills each for the Oaks.

The Vulcans will have little time to lick their wounds, traveling to San Francisco for a pair of matches Thursday at the D2 West Region Showcase, hosted by San Francisco State. They will play Cal State Monterey Bay at noon (9 am in Hawaii) and Alaska at 5 p.m. Pacific time (2 pm HT).