VOLLEYBALL WEEKLY
UH Hilo Overall Record: 19-6                      UHH PacWest Record: 15-4

Vulcans still harbor post-season hopes, need to run table and hope
Wednesday, Nov. 7, 7 p.m. vs. Fresno Pacific (7-21 / 6-13 PWC)
Friday, Nov. 9, 7 p.m. @Hawaii Pacific (12-14 / 11-9 PWC)—St. Andrew's Priory
Saturday, Nov. 10, 7 p.m. @Chaminade (21-5 / 15-5 PWC)—McCabe Gym
(Link to Live Stats and Live Video for all matches available at www.hiloathletics.com)

Hilo Headlines: With a split of west region ranked teams last week at home, Hawai`i Hilo still harbors hopes of joining the post-season parade next week. But first, three wins in their final three outings are a must, beginning with the final home match of the year on Wednesday (Fresno Pacific), followed by matches on Oahu against Hawaii Pacific (Friday) and Chaminade (Saturday).

Season Sweeps go to Cougars, Vulcans: First-place Azusa Pacific strengthened its hold on the top spot in the PacWest and completed a season sweep of Hawaii Hilo at the same time last Halloween night at UH Hilo. APU had one hiccup, getting topped by the Vulcans in the second set but otherwise rolled in a four-set win. UH Hilo did something similar to Point Loma, a straight sets season sweep of the Sea Lions, and helping to knock them out of the post-season hunt.

PacWest Logjam: Azusa Pacific was an impressive 3-0 on their trip to the islands, while Point Loma went 0-3. The Cougars are 18-2 in conference play, Biola is next at 17-3, followed by the Vulcans (15-4), Chaminade (15-5) and Point Loma (13-7). APU has secured the automatic berth into the NCAA west regional tournament, as Biola is not yet eligible (NCAA provisional) and UH Hilo (the only other team that could catch them) lost both matches to the Cougars.

Regional Ratings: The October 31 NCAA west region rankings still had the Vulcans just outside looking in. There will be two more ratings (Nov. 7 and 11), and with the final ranking the post-season field will be determined. The conference winners from the PacWest, the CCAA and the GNAC will earn berths, and the ratings will determine the next five teams (eight total). Here is the ranking from Oct. 31, with each teams' record at that time. (1) Western Washington 21-3, (2) Cal State San Bernardino 22-2, (3) Cal State LA 20-3, (4) Cal Poly Pomona 21-3, (5) Azusa Pacific (19-6), (6) Central Washington (18-5), (7) Alaska Anchorage (18-5), (8) Chaminade (20-4), (9) Point Loma (16-8), (10) Cal State East Bay (13-11). In the regional rating points (statistical data), one of the criteria that is strongly considered, UH Hilo actually had more points than Point Loma or Cal State East Bay.

Spring Back: In UH Hilo's final home match of the season on Wednesday (Fresno Pacific), the Vulcans will look back to spring sports, handing out special awards to members of the Vulcan men's tennis team, baseball squad, softball team and men's golf.

Free, Free, Free!!: From here on and forever more, all UH Hilo and Hawaii Community College students will receive free admission to all Vulcan home events. Just show your student ID, and you are in!!

Building a Wall: UH Hilo has 29 block assists in the win over Point Loma, their second highest total of the season (32 @FPU was tops). The Vulcans lead the PacWest with 2.53 blocks per set, and 6-3 sophomore middle Ashton Jessee is tops individually with 1.29 per set. Jessee is also 17^th in the country in that same category. Armani Moultrie, who had 12 blocks against the Sea Lions, is second in the PacWest (1.16). Moultrie was the PacWest Defender of the Week on Oct. 22 and Jessee earned the same honor on Oct. 29. Alexandria Parisian was the Freshman of the Week on Oct. 29.

Mina's Defending the Court: If the ball gets past the block, Mina Grant and others have been there to keep the ball in play. Grant has 334 digs on the season (4.51 per set), fifth best in the PacWest. She has 1,507 digs in her career, with the Vulcan career record listed at 1,559 by Tanya Fuamatu (1992-95). Grant, the PacWest Preseason Libero of the Year, needs to average just over 17.33 digs per match o surpass Fuamatu to become the all-time Vulcan leader. 

Hitters from Every Angle: The Vulcans offensive attack comes from many angles, with five different players tallying at least 125 kills so far on the season. Bria Beale leads with 246 kills, with Alexandria Parisian at 230, Evelin Solyomvari 217, Ashton Jessee 154 and Teisa Tuioti 127. 

PacWest Percentages: UH Hilo leads the PacWest in opponent hitting percentage (.145), meaning of course that opponents are having a having a hard time getting a ball down against the Vulcans. Similar category, UHH is second in opponents aces (1.18).
 
Winning Runs: The Vulcans had a six-match win streak prior to their loss to Azusa Pacific, their longest of the year. They have also had winning runs of five matches and four matches earlier this year.
 
Fun at Home: The Vulcans are 8-4 this season at Vulcan Gymnasium, and between that, the great food and a general fun time, UH Hilo leads the Pacific West Conference in home attendance at 430 per match.
 
Taking Care of Business: 12 of UH Hilo's 19 wins thus far have come in a very efficient three sets. They have also won three five-setters (Cal State Dominguez Hills, Biola and Dominican), and four 4-set matches (Academy of Art twice, Hawaii Pacific and Fresno Pacific). They have dropped two matches that went five (UC San Diego, St. Martin's).

Triple S's Left on Schedule: The Vulcans kick off their final three matches of the regular season on Wednesday at home against Fresno Pacific. The Sunbirds will come to Hilo on a two-match win streak, after wrapping up the home portion of its season with victories over Academy of Art and Holy Names. Those wins snapped a five-match losing streak, which included a Oct. 23 setback to Hawaii Hilo (3-1). The Sunbirds have one of the top kill-makers in the PacWest in Carley Bock, who lists fourth in the conference with 3.25 kills per set. Despite the loss to the Vulcans in October, FPU leads the all-time series between the two teams, 9-6. Hawaii Pacific was one of the hottest teams in the PacWest, having won six straight matches before falling to front-runner Azusa Pacific in FIVE sets on Friday. They defeated Point Loma last week and the Sharks are now 11-9 in PacWest play. Cameryn Collie ranked sixth in the PacWest with 3.03 kills per set and Amanda Acosta leads the defense with 4.10 digs per set. The Vulcans topped the Sharks back on Oct. 7 in Hilo (3-1), and UH Hilo leads the all-time series between the two teams, 70-57. Chaminade went a barn-burning five sets with Azusa Pacific as well, before falling 15-9 in the fifth. The Silverswords are hanging on to that last spot in the west region rankings at No. 8, prior to this Wednesday's latest poll. Chaminade had won eight in a row before the loss to the Cougars, but still boast one of the top overall records in the region at 21-5. Alana Handy is second in the PacWest in kills (3.36), while Brooke Bell is third in hitting percentage (.392). The Silverswords have won the last five matches against the Vulcans, including a 3-1 win in Hilo on Oct. 6. UH Hilo leads the all-time series between the two, 70-37.

Winning Ways: UH Hilo's 19 victories is already the most for a Vulcan team since the 2009 UH team went 25-2. That Bruce Atkinson-coached team won the Pacific West Conference title and advanced to the NCAA tournament, falling in five sets in the first round to Alaska Anchorage.
 
The Coach: Vulcan leader Gene Krieger is in his second season on the Big Island, but has also served as the head coach (most recent first) at Anderson, Northwestern Oklahoma State, California Baptist, Cal Poly Pomona, Westmont, Western Oregon and Warner Pacific. He has a collegiate coaching record of 386-216, including 28-24 at UH Hilo.