SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—Oh, what a difference a few hours can make.

Literally hours after a performance to forget, the Hawai`i Hilo volleyball team flipped the script during a 25-21, 25-12, 13-25, 25-18 win over the University of Alaska at the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase.

The Vulcan victory over the Nanooks improved UHH's record to 1-1 in the Showcase and 2-2 on the season. Alaska (formerly Alaska Fairbanks) is now 5-2 in 2017. They had defeated Holy Names earlier in the day in straight sets.

Senior Siera Green had 17 kills, eight digs and three service aces to lead the Vulcans. Randi Hunter added 12 kills and Mina Grant led UHH with 19 digs. Lucee Fitzgerald contributed an all-around effort with nine kills, 12 digs, two aces and four block assists.

UH Hilo, who had fallen in three sets earlier in the day at The Swamp (San Francisco State) to Cal State Monterey Bay, came out firing on all cylinders in the 5 pm (Pacific time) match.

In the first set, neither team led by more than two points in reaching a 10-10 deadlock.  The two squads continued to trade blows, tied numerous times including at 19-19, 20-20 and 21-21. But from there, the Vulcans closed out with four straight points—kills by Green and Fitzgerald, and back-to-back aces by Green (25-21).

That finish helped propel UHH into a dominant second set. They jumped out to a 4-1 lead (two kills by Green) and never trailed. At 11-8, they pushed their lead to 17-8 during the serve of Basia Sauni and wrapped up the game with a Fitzgerald kill and Green ace (25-12).

Through the first two sets, the Vulcans hit .335, including .375 in the second game.

In the third set, the Nanooks of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC), fought back. They broke a 3-3 tie with five straight points (8-3) and later, with a 13-11 lead, they scored 12 of the final 14 points to claim the set (25-13).

In the fourth set, the Nanooks scored first but the Vulcans quickly took control with 10 consecutive points, which included three kills by Hunter. UAF would cut the lead to six points on five different occasions, but the Vulcans held them off each time. Hunter had five kills in the set, including the final point of the match (25-18).

Gabby Lerma led the Nanooks and all players with 18 kills.

"That was a good bounce-back win for us," said head coach Gene Krieger. "We needed that after the last 24 hours." (The Vulcans lost to Menlo on Wednesday, in addition to the Otters this morning).

UHH hit .288 in the match and had seven aces.

The Vulcans will continue play in the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase on Friday, taking on host San Francisco State at 1:30 pm (Pacific).

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