This Week in Vulcan Volleyball
Record: 17-5 (12-2 PWC)

Title Quest Continues with Oahu Matches                                   
Saturday, Nov. 2 @Hawaii Pacific (15-7/11-3 PWC), Shark Tank, 7 pm
Sunday, Nov. 3 @Chaminade (19-3/13-1 PWC), McCabe Gymnasium, 1 pm
 
Streaking into Oahu: After two hugely important wins at home over Point Loma and Azusa Pacific, Hawai`i Hilo takes their 12-match winning streak to Oahu this weekend—for two equally huge match-ups at Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade. In the Sharks (11-3), the 12-2 Vulcans will play the team one full game behind them in the Pacific West Conference Standings. In the Silverswords (13-1), they play the league leader, who is one game ahead of them in the standings.
 
Southland Send Off: Two of the PacWest's best from the southern California southland visited recently, only to leave Vulcan Gym with losses. Against Point Loma, the Vulcans won a marathon first set (29-27) and went on to dispatch the Sea Lions in four games. Versus the Cougars, who were coming off straight set wins on Oahu over Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade, the Vulcans spotted APU a 2-1 lead and then went the full five sets before breaking through at 15-11 in the fifth.
 
Revenge is one Motive: It seems likes ages ago, but would still be fresh on UH Hilo's minds. Back on Sept. 21-22, Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade came to Vulcan Gymnasium and left with victories, giving the Vulcans an 0-2 start to PacWest play. Add that to the list of motivations for the Vulcans, who are battling the Sharks and Silverswords for the PacWest title and NCAA west region playoff berths.
 
Coach Chris Says: "We have played with a little chip on our shoulder all season long," says Vulcan head coach Chris Leonard, whose team was picked fifth in the PacWest preseason poll. "We have a long road ahead, but I believe that we have the confidence to know that we can compete against and win versus anyone we play. Actually doing it adds to the confidence. Our destiny is in our own hands. We have the teams that we need to beat right in front of us over the last half of the regular season. We have some unfinished business in Oahu. With the island rivalries, you never have any trouble getting up for those matches no matter what the circumstance but have something to prove this time."
 
Speaking of: Next week the first official NCAA west region poll makes its appearance. The top ten teams from the PacWest, Great Northwest Athletic Conference and the California Collegiate Athletic Association will be listed. At the end of the regular season, the champion of each conference qualifies for the post-season, and the next five teams are determined from this list.
 
A Dozen in a Row: UH Hilo's 12-match win streak is the longest for the program for a very, very long time. Last year's 21-7 team had a victory string of six straight, as did the 2011 squad. You have to go back to 2010 to find a longer win streak—one that went 13 matches during an 18-5 season under head coach Tino Reyes. The 2009 Vulcan squad under Bruce Atkinson had a 16-match winning streak, and his 2007 club had a 14-match run. Records prior to that are sketchy, although simple math will tell you that the 1988 Vulcan NAIA National Championship team (26-1) may have had a longer streak than 16.
 
Point Loma Sent Packing: The Vulcans won a marathon first set (29-27) and twice rallied back from deficits against Point Loma to win their 11<sup>th</sup> straight match on Oct. 23. UHH trailed by seven points in the first set and by four in the third before rallying for the important win. Bria Beale had 16 kills, Emily Wade had 12 and Alexandria Parisian added 11 in UH Hilo's balanced attack.
 
Cougars Clipped: In front of a rabid crowd of 633, the Vulcans came back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Azusa Pacific in five. The Vulcans did most of their work in the middle against perhaps the tallest team in the conference. Freshman Emily Wade had an astounding 24 kills and fellow middle Armani Moultrie added 16. The duo had just four attack errors between them, with 40 kills in 82 attacks.
 
Career Accomplishments: Against the Cougars, Emily Wade's 24 kills are a collegiate best for her young career, and senior Kaila Lizama's 35 digs is the best in her four seasons in a Vulcan uniform. Senior MB Armani Moultrie was just one kill off her career best with 16.
 
And They All Had a Good Time: Through nine matches at home, UH Hilo is averaging 605 fans per night. That includes a season-high 877 in the conference home opener against Chaminade. That 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.
 
Boss Beale: Junior outside hitter Bria Beale continues to post all-around good numbers night in and out for the Vulcans. She has had double-figure kill totals in her last 12 matches, and has double-figure dig totals in seven of her last eight outings. She leads the Vulcans in kills (308), points (352), aces (27), and is second in digs (257). She leads the PacWest in kills and points.
 
PacWest Stat Column: The Vulcans are fourth in the PacWest in hitting percentage (.228), fourth in opponent hitting percentage (.160), fourth in assists (12.41), fourth in kills per set (13.45), fourth in blocks (2.10), third in digs (17.48) and third in service aces (1.66).
 
PacWest Leadership: Individual leaders on the PacWest stat board include…
*Bria Beale—1st in kills per set (3.76), 1st in points (4.29), 9<sup>th</sup> in aces (0.33)
*Kendall Kott—1<sup>st</sup> in assists per set (10.96)
*Emily Wade—3rd in blocks (1.06), 6<sup>th</sup> in hitting % (.347)
*Kaila Lizama—3rd in digs (5.20)
 
Sharks Circle: Fourth-place Hawaii Pacific defeated Point Loma last week in three sets but lost in the same amount of games to Azusa Pacific. That loss to the Cougars snapped a five-match Shark winning streak. HPU's only other conference losses this year have been to Biola (3-1) and Chaminade (3-0). The Sharks have the No. 2 and No. 3 kill leaders in the conference in Cameryn Collie (3.65) and Perla Escobar (3.56), and that duo also goes No.'s 2-3 in PacWest points. Collie had 19 kills and 12 digs in the HPU win over the Vulcans in September. When the Sharks won that match, they snapped a three-match UHH win streak in the series, which Hawaii Hilo leads all-time, 71-58.
 
Chaminade Chatter: First-place Chaminade had won 13 straight matches before the stunning loss to Azusa Pacific in straight set fashion. The Silverswords then took out their frustrations the next night on Point Loma, defeating the Sea Lions in straight sets. Chaminade is second in the PacWest in hitting percentage (.254) and they are first in assists (13.05). They also lead in kills (14.39) and service aces (2.04). Emma Tecklenburg is fourth in the conference in kills per set (3.41) and Claire Zanon is second in aces (0.39). Rachel Reedy had 17 kills and Annah Rivera had 15 in the five-set win over the Vulcans last month. Chaminade has now won the last seven matches in the series, but the Vulcans still lead all-time, 70-39.
 
Around the PacWest: It is tighter than ever at the top of the standings, with only two games separating the top four teams. Chaminade (13-1) is first, followed by Hawaii Hilo (12-2), Azusa Pacific (10-2) and Hawaii Pacific (11-3). Biola is not far behind (9-4), while Point Loma with their three Hawaii losses is now 8-5. No PacWest team is ranked in the AVCA national poll, although Azusa Pacific is receiving votes at No.26. From the west region, Cal State San Bernardino is No. 1, Western Washington is No. 5, Cal State LA is 24, APU 26, Chaminade 30, and Alaska Anchorage is 32.
 
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).
 
What's Next: After Oahu, critical matches continue for the Vulcans, this time in southern California. UH Hilo heads out for their final road trip of the season, playing Biola (Nov. 11), Point Loma (Nov. 13), Azusa Pacific (Nov. 14) and Concordia (Nov. 16).