This Week in Vulcan Volleyball
Record: 10-5 (5-2 PWC)

Vulcans Begin Seven-Match Homestand with Pair of Eagles                            
Wednesday, Oct. 10 vs. Concordia (9-5/3-3 PWC), Vulcan Gymnasium, 7 pm
Saturday, Oct. 12 vs. Biola (7-7/4-2 PWC), Fresno, CA, 6 pm PT
 
Home Sweet Home: After a successful five-match road trip, not to mention playing 13 of their first 15 matches away from home, the Vulcans will now settle down for seven straight matches in Vulcan Gymnasium. It starts tomorrow (Thursday) night against Concordia and continues into Saturday against Biola. Both matches start at 7 p.m.
 
Red and Free: Vulcan fans are encouraged to wear red on Thursday for the annual Red Out Game. All fans wearing red will have their names entered into a halftime drawing for "volleyball fan bags." In 2019, there is free admission for UH Hilo (and HCC) students, faculty and staff.
 
Watch, Listen, Track: All Vulcan home matches are available via Live Stream and Live Stats. Live Stats are free, while the video is pay-per-view. Per match cost is $7.95, while a Season Pass can be purchased for $64.95.
 
Five for Five: The Vulcans won five matches in eight days during a swing through northern California last week. That is UH Hilo's longest win streak since they won six in a row late in the season last year. The travelers won their first three matches in straight sets, and then went a grueling five sets in the trip finale, topping Notre Dame de Namur.
 
All the Attention: With the five-match win streak, a number of Vulcans got lots of attention when it came to award-receiving this week. Bria Beale was named the Pacific West Conference Player of the Week and the Hawaii Tribune-Herald Athlete of the Week. The junior outside hitter had 70 kills in the five matches, including 20 each versus Fresno Pacific and NDNU. Emily Wade was selected as the PacWest Freshman of the Week, knocking down a career-best 21 kills versus the Argos. She hit .818 in putting down nine kills against Holy Names. She had an .448 attack percentage for the week. Kendall Kott did the feeding, tallying 176 assists in the five matches. She had a career-best 62 at NDNU. She was named UH Hilo's Pepsi Athlete of the Week.
 
Eagles and more Eagles: Concordia and Biola visit this week, bringing to town the PacWest's two teams of Eagles. Concordia will also bring a familiar face to Vulcan fans in associate coach Gene Krieger, who coached UHH in 2017 and 2018. The Irvine team had a three-match winning streak snapped on Oct. 2 at the hands of first-place Azusa Pacific, but it went five sets. Concordia was picked to finish sixth in the PacWest preseason poll, returning six starters from their 2019 team. The Vulcans won both matches against the Eagles last season in straight sets, and the all-time series history between the two is tied at 4-4. Biola is in their first year of NCAA eligibility, and come to Hawaii with a 4-2 conference mark. They will play Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific before arriving in Hilo. Abigail Copeland is the reigning PacWest Defender of the Week after posting 16 blocks in eight sets last week. Biola was picked third in the preseason poll, returning Second Team All-PWC defender Sami Hover. The Vulcans won an epic five-setter last year in La Mirada, but the Eagles topped UH Hilo in Hilo, 3-1. The Vulcans lead the all-time series, 4-2.
 
By the Numbers: As promised by Leonard in the preseason, the Vulcan offensive attack has been balanced. Junior Bria Beale had a total of 207 kills to lead the way, including 20 twice on this last road trip. Behind her is Amber Tai (147), who had a career-best 19 kills against Notre Dame de Namur. Emily Wade has 142 and Alexandria Parisian adds 118. Kendall Kott leads the way with 610 assists and Kaila Lizama paces the Vulcans with 268 digs. Wade has 13 solo blocks and 48 block assists.
 
Aces Wild: The Vulcans have zipped in 99 service aces in 15 matches. Eight different Vulcans have aces, led by Amber Tai's 22, Bria Beale's 16 and 15 each from Alexandria Parisian and Kaila Lizama.
 
PacWest Blocking: The Vulcans are second in the PacWest in blocks with 2.21 per set.
 
PacWest Leadership: Individual leaders on the PacWest stat board include…
*Bria Beale—2nd in kills per set (3.63), 2nd in points (4.14)
*Kendall Kott—1^st in assists per set (10.70)
*Ashton Jessee—4th in blocks (1.08)
*Emily Wade—5th in blocks (1.07)
*Kaila Lizama—7^th in digs (4.70)
*Amber Tai—7^th in service aces (0.39)
 
Around the PacWest: Chaminade is the early PacWest leader with a 7-0 record, but Azusa Pacific is also unbeaten at 5-0. Hawaii Pacific is the surprise title contender at 6-1, with the Vulcans next at 5-2.
 
Crowd Pleasing: In UH Hilo's home opener on Sept. 21, the announced crowd for the match was 877 fans, with just a few seats left unoccupied. It was the largest crowd for a UH Hilo home volleyball match since the 2009 season, when 1,000 fans overflowed Vulcan Gymnasium for a match versus Hawaii Pacific.
 
Last Year: The Vulcans had their best season in a decade, going 21-7 overall and 17-5 in the Pacific West Conference, good for a tie for third with Chaminade. They just missed being selected for postseason play (Chaminade made it). Under head coach Gene Krieger, the Vulcans went from 9-18 in 2017 to 21-7, a 12-game win improvement.
 
PacWest Preseason: The Vulcans were picked to finish fifth in the Pacific West Conference Preseason poll, behind Azusa Pacific, Chaminade, Biola and Point Loma. Bria Beale was named to the All-Preseason team.
 
The Coach: Chris Leonard is UH Hilo's interim head coach for 2019, after five years as the teams' lead assistant and 20+ years as a local high school and club coach. He is an inductee of the Big Island Sports Hall of Fame, and is also the President and General Manager of New West Broadcasting Corporation. He is a coaching staff of five assistants, all with Hawaii volleyball ties—Emil Osorio (Waiakea HS and Pilipa`a), Tai Manu-Olevao (Rainbow Wahine, All-Big West), Poli Olevao-Kahapea (UH Hilo, A Mother's Prayer), Sienna Davis (UH Hilo all-time assist leader), and Basia Sauni (two-year starter at UH Hilo).