VOLLEYBALL WEEKLY
UH Hilo Overall Record: 9-3            UHH PacWest Record: 5-1

UH Hilo to host Urban Knights, Hawks at Vulcan Gymnasium
Friday, Sept. 28 7 p.m.: UH Hilo (9-3) vs. Academy of Art (0-15)
Monday, Oct. 1, 7 p.m.: UH Hilo vs. Holy Names (3-10 prior to HPU, CUH)
(Link to Live Stats and Live Video for all matches available at www.hiloathletics.com)

Home Six Pack: The Vulcans will kick off a six-match homestand this weekend with a Friday match against Academy of Art and a Monday tilt versus Holy Names. The matches versus the Urban Knights and Hawks are the first of a half dozen critical games at home that will also see the Vulcans host Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific (Oct. 6-7), followed by Biola and Concordia (Oct. 12, 14).

Celebrating SoCal: UH Hilo had one of its most successful trips into southern California in many years last week. The Vulcans opened the four-match stretch with a loss to Azusa Pacific, but bounced back with three-set sweeps of Concordia and Point Loma, along with a nail-biting five-set victory over Biola. In doing so, they vaulted themselves into second place in the Pacific West Conference, improving to 9-3 overall and 5-1 in conference action.
 
Taking Care of Business: Seven of UH Hilo's nine wins thus far have come in three very efficient sets. They have also won two five-setters (Cal State Dominguez Hills and Biola), and have dropped two matches that went five (UC San Diego, St. Martin's).

Best Start: UH Hilo's 9-3 start is their best since the 2011 team began at 11-2. That Vulcan team also began Pacwest play at 7-2.

Blocking Business: The Vulcans have been a wall at the net, ranking second in the PacWest in blocks per set (2.25). In the three-set win over Point Loma, they had 14 blocks, including seven by sophomore middle Ashton Jessee. The Anchorage native had 13 blocks for the three wins in SoCal, and was named the Pacific West Conference Defender of the Week for her work. On the season, Jessee leads the PacWest with 1.19 blocks per set, followed closely by Kiley Davis (0.91), Evelin Solyomvari (0.73) and Alexandria Parisian (0.59). The Vulcans are first in the PacWest in opponent hitting percentage at just .149.

Defending the Court: If the ball gets past the block, Mina Grant and others have been there to keep the ball in play. Grant now has 211 digs on the season (4.80 per set), fourth best in the PacWest. She has 1,384 digs in her career, with the Vulcan career record listed at 1,559 by Tanya Fuamatu (1992-95). Bria Beale is next behind Grant this season with 130 digs, followed by Basia Sauni's 112.

Hitters from Every Angle: The Vulcans offensive attack comes from many angles, with six different players tallying at least 60 kills so far on the season. Evelin Solyomvari and Bria Beale are dead even with 122 kills each (2.77 per set), with Alexandria Parisian next with 105. Middle blockers Ashton Jessee and Kiley Davis ironically also have the exact same number of 69 kills, with freshman outside hitter Teisa Tuioti just behind with 61. The Vulcans rank third in the PacWest with 12.89 kills per set.

Assisting with Aces: The Vulcans are fourth in the conference with 1.43 aces per set. Freshman Maile Powell is fourth individually with 15 total, 0.34 per set. Fellow setter Basia Sauni has 12 aces to go with her 270 assists (6.14 per set), while Powell has 205 assists. Overall, the Vulcans are third in the PacWest in assists (12.18).

Urban Knights and Hawks: The Urban Knights of Academy of Art will be looking for their first victory of the season on Friday (0-15). Jillian Wheaton was named the PacWest Freshman of the Week on Monday, averaging 14 kills and 7.5 blocks per match in games last week. Ashley Pawlak leads Art Univ. in both kills (2.13) and digs (3.19), and also has 45 career service aces. She had 20 kills and 19 digs against Fresno Pacific. The Vulcans won the lone match played between the two teams last year, and UH Hilo leads the all-time series, 10-3. Holy Names will first play Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade before arriving on the Big Island. They come to the islands with a pair of wins in the PacWest (Dominican and Academy of Art) and are led by libero Cassidy Simon, who was the PacWest Defender of the Week before UHH's Ashton Jessee was named the same this week. The Vulcans won two matches against the Hawks last year, and UHH now leads the all-time series, 9-1.

Around the Loop: Azusa Pacific, the pre-season conference favorite, sits on top of the PacWest standings with a perfect 7-0 league mark, and they are 11-4 overall. The Vulcans are next (5-1/9-3), with Biola one-game back (6-2/10-5). On the national front involving West Region teams, Cal State San Bernardino is ranked No. 2 in the AVCA poll, with Western Washington at No. 7, Cal State LA No. 16 and Cal Poly Pomona at No. 25. The first official west region poll will be released the second week of October.

What's Next: The home stand continues the first weekend of October, with huge matches against island rivals Chaminade (Oct. 6) and Hawaii Pacific (Oct. 7). Both matches begin at 7 p.m.