SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—With very little margin for error in their quest for a conference title, the Hawai`i Hilo Vulcans held serve with a 25-12, 25-21, 20-25, 25-16  win over Academy of Art on Sunday afternoon at Kezar Pavilion.

The win gave the Vulcans their third straight victory, improving to 11-3 in the Pacific West Conference and 15-5 overall. They kept Academy of Art winless at 0-24 on the year and 0-16 in league play.

UH Hilo won their second match of this busy northern California swing, where they will play five matches in seven days. They maintained their hold on fourth place in the PacWest, with Biola (14-2), Azusa Pacific (13-2) and Point Loma (12-3) just ahead of them.

The Vulcans had season-highs in service aces (12) and block assists (20) to highlight another balanced effort. Bria Beale had a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs (two aces), while freshman Teisa Tuioti had one of the most complete games of her career with seven kills, a team-high 14 digs and five aces--a season high for any Vulcan player.

The Vulcans rolled in the first set, and had a battle on their hands the rest of the way.

In the first, the Urban Knights took a 2-0 lead but then watched the Vulcans score six straight points. Still, leading only 11-7, UHH went on a torrid run to outscore the home team 14-5 down the stretch for the 25-12 win. Beale had five kills and six digs in the set as the Vulcans hit .324 as a team.

The second set was much different. The Urban Knights, who took a set from the Vulcans in Hilo in September, traded blows with their guests, building a 7-3 lead early. They led 14-11 before a UHH timeout—from which the Vulcans came out of the break on a five-point run. Still it was tight to the finish before the Vulcans finished the set (25-21) on a Ashton Jessee kill.

In the third, after breaking an 8-8 tie, the Urban Knights would take a 16-12 lead and wouldn't trail again. The Vulcans cut the margin to 21-19 on a Armani Moultrie service ace, but the home team scored four of the next five points to secure the set (25-20). The fourth set was back-and-forth again. Jessee tied it at 13-13 on a block, leading a charge of six straight Vulcan points that included two aces by Tuioti. UHH would cruise from there (25-16).

Alexandria Parisian finished with 12 kills and three block assists, and Jessee had another big match with eight kills, two aces, two solo blocks and four block assists. Evelin Solyomvari had six kills and five BA's, Moultrie had six BA's and Kaila Lizama had 12 digs. Maile Powell had a double-double with 16 assists and ten digs, and Basia Sauni had 23 assists and nine digs to close out the impressive Vulcan stat line.

The Vulcans will now head to Fresno to take on Fresno Pacific on Tuesday. Start time will be 6 p.m. Pacific time.