HILO, Hawai`i--On a must-win night for host Hawai`i Hilo, the Vulcans let their defense do the talking during a 25-20, 25-19, 26-24 win over Point Loma on Saturday evening at Vulcan Gymnasium.

The Vulcans, the top blocking team in the Pacific West Conference, had 28 blocks and 57 digs in a three-set match. Armani Moultrie led the way with a collegiate-best 12 blocks (including a solo), while Mina Grant paced the back row with 16 digs. Bria Beale had a double-double with ten kills and 11 digs.

The Vulcans moved into sole possession of third place in the PacWest with the win (and Chaminade's loss to Azusa Pacific), and is now 15-4 in conference play. They are 19-6 overall. Point Loma, who came into the week ranked No. 9 in the west region but lost all three matches on the islands, is now 16-11 overall and 13-7 in the PacWest.

UH Hilo, with three matches left, including a season-finale at Chaminade on November 10, has to run the table to continue to be in the post-season hunt.

"Three wins is what we need to continue to be in the conversation," agreed head coach Gene Krieger. "It's a fun place to be, the girls have worked hard to get here."

The Vulcans worked hard on defense tonight, that's for sure. 

But in the first set, their offense was more of a factor. UH Hilo hit .283 with four kills each from Beale and Ashton Jessee. They built a 10-4 lead early and led by seven late in the set before settling for the 25-20 win. 

In the second set, the block went to work. Trailing 14-9 and 15-11, UHH rallied back by shutting down the Sea Lion offense. Numerous long rallies, that the Vulcans won, allowed them to rally back to a 17-17 tie. The Vulcans scored five straight points, which included a block by Moultrie and Evelin Solyomvari, and then finished off the set on a Moultrie ace.

The home team jumped out to a lead in set three at 11-5, but the Sea Lions--sensing their post-season hopes slipping away, battled back to a 12-12 tie and the two teams traded blows from there. No more than two points separated the teams the rest of the way, and Point Loma had set point at 24-23 before an Alexandria Parisian kill kept UH Hilo alive.

Beale then collected her tenth kill of the night to suddenly give the hosts set and match point. Appropriately enough, the evening ended on a Vulcan block, with Jessee and Beale combing to stymie the final Sea Lion attempt.

In addition to Moultrie's night at the net, Solyomvari added seven total blocks to the total. Basia Sauni just missed a double-double with 13 assists and nine digs. 

Kayla Chapman led the Sea Lions with nine kills and she also had four blocks. Cara Keturakis had 31 assists and 14 digs, while Courtney Dyer led PLNU with 21 digs. 

The Vulcans honored their four seniors after the match--Grant, Solyomvari, Sauni and the injured Kiley Davis, but they will still have one more home encounter when they host Fresno Pacific on Wednesday night (Nov. 7). Start time is 7 p.m. They then finished the regular season with match on Oahu against Hawaii Pacific (Nov. 9) and Chaminade (Nov. 10).