HILO, Hawai`i—And a pair of sophomores would lead them.
Bria Beale had a career-high 20 kills, along with 15 digs and two block assists, and
Ashton Jessee added 11 kills, a career-best four service aces and eight block assists as Hawai`i Hilo won in four sets over Fresno Pacific, 25-15, 25-21, 19-25, 25-19.
The Vulcans reached 20 wins for the first time since 2009 with the victory (20-6), and they also improved to 16-4 in the Pacific West Conference. Fresno Pacific, kicking off the first of three matches on the islands, fell to 7-22 on the year and to 6-14 in the PacWest.
UH Hilo kept their hopes for a post-season berth alive with the win, and also maintained their hold on third place in the PacWest standings.
Sophomore Beale's 20 kills came with .400 efficiency, five put-aways better than her previous best. Her points, as usual, came from a variety of power shots, tips, and angles.
Fellow sophomore Jessee, who had nine aces on the season coming into the match, zipped in four while also hitting .476 on the night. She had a solo block to go with her eight assisted blocks in a complete game performance.
Alexandria Parisian had nine kills and hit .400, and also had five block assists.
Basia Sauni had 29 assists,
Mina Grant had 16 digs and
Armani Moultrie added a pair of solo blocks.
The Vulcans rolled in the first set, hitting .441 and scoring 11 straight points in the middle of the game. The second set was much closer, but UHH hit a solid percentage again (.310) and closed out the set on an Armani kill to take a 2-0 lead.
But the third set was all Sunbirds as the visitors took a 9-7 lead and increased it to 17-10 before closing out the set at 25-19. The Vulcans then got back on track in the third set, taking their own 17-10 lead before closing out the night on a Jessee kill.
Carley Bock led the Sunbirds with 15 kills, Madison Pierce had 13 and Caroline Bodziak added 11. Greta Dobenecker had 47 assists and 12 digs for FPU, who saw their two-match winning streak come to a close.
UH Hilo will now head to Oahu to wrap up the regular season, with a Friday match at Hawaii Pacific and a Saturday encounter with Chaminade. Both matches begin at 7 p.m.
